PAS Finds (w/e 6/10/23) – Gold Scabbard

October 12, 2023October 20, 2023 Paul

My selection of the detecting finds recorded at the PAS in the week ended 6 October 2023.

Featured Find

Gold and gemstone scabbard mount

Photo: North Lincolnshire Museum CC By SA2.0

Object type: Scabbard

Period: Anglo-Saxon

Primary material: Gold

Date found: 25/09/2023

Location: East Lindsey, Lincolnshire

This gold and scabbard mount has been dated to AD 575 – 650. The quality of the workmanship is exceptional and considered to be a step above other comparable finds from the region of that period. Consequently the PAS report suggests that it could have been made for a royal rather than a local aristocrat. It is considered a Find of Note of Regional Importance.

It is a delicate object and clearly there are some parts missing. As you would expect, the detectorist whose find it is has been busy looking for them as described in the report: “The finder has unsurprisingly searched assiduously for any further fragments of this object or any other associated objects. However, and to date, other material reported from the vicinity is of early post-medieval date“.

Selection of other finds

Photo: The Portable Antiquities Scheme CC By SA2.0

Niquet of Henry V

A billon Niquet or Leopard of Henry V, with about 12% silver content. Minted for Henry V in Normandy, from 1421 till his death in 1422. It’s a Find of Note of County Importance.

Photo: Surrey County Council CC By SA2.0

St James the Great pilgrim pendant

A silver pendant set with jet in the form of a scallop shell with St James the Great superimposed. Sources of Jet are found near to the shrine of St James at Santiago de Compostela. It is therefore and overtly Catholic piece and dates to c. 1400 – 1550. A Find of Note of County Importance.