File:Book clasp (FindID 65472).jpg

English: A book clasp made of copper-alloy from the Post-Medieval period. This example dated from the 16th - 17th Centuries. This book clasp consists of two thin plates of copper-alloy. One of the plates (the top) forms the decorative, visible part of the clasp. This plate terminates at one end with a decorative cut in the metal and the rivets, which would have held the leather in place. The other end has a hook, still in situ.

The second (lower) plate connects to the upper plate (under the hook), from this point to the centre of the clasp the two plates are stuck together. From the centre of the clasp to the other terminal there is a gap between the two plates, which allows the leather to be held in place. The clasp has three rivets (all still in situ). The open-ended terminal has two rivets clamping the top and bottom plates together. These rivets are also made of copper-alloy.

The third rivet is positioned just up from the central point of the clasp. All of the rivet heads appear to have been made into a feature. The central rivet is surrounded by three consecutive rings around the rivets head. The open-ended terminal has three holes, positioned in a line. The two end rivets are situated on top of an engraved chevron design. The chevrons are pointing away from the main part of the clasp. There are three sets of chevron designs. The other end of the clasp has been decorated with (with the clasp to the hook) two grooves, a set of horizontal dashes and then three more grooves. The hook is quite chucky. The reverse is undecorated apart from the rivet heads. The clasp is complete but the metal has lost much of its original surface and the metal has gone a dark reddish-brown colour.

Parallel for this find can be seen in Ottaway and Rogers, 2002, pp2936-2937, ref no. 14480, unfortunately this example is unstratified. Other examples of parallel can be seen in Bailey, 1999, pp70-73, the most obvious parallel is no. 10, which dates this book clasp to the 16th -17th Century.