File:117 roman strap mount face (FindID 67997).jpg

English: Strap fitting

  3rd century
 
  51mm long, 31mm wide, 3mm thick

  

  Rectangular with a concave edge on all four sides leaving each of the corners pointed.  The sides are bevelled, so that the base is slightly wider than the top, the shorter ends have a much shallower angle.  On the reverse the edges extend down be a further 1mm resulting in the reverse being slightly recessed.  

  

  There are two mushroom shaped (rods small rods with a round section (4mm thick, 7mm tall), that have had the ends hammered over to form a flat circular plate on the terminal, an attachment method which is typical of many 3rd century examples such as a mount from Cirencester (Bishop & Coulston, 1993, 156).
 
  

  There are four openwork crescents, two on each side of the long section.  Both pairs of crescents are conjoined to each other at the end (length ) to form two lines of double crescents, one on each side. The backs of the crescents are facing the middle of the artefact.  There are a number of examples that are of a similar style, that have been associated with horse equipment which dates to the 3rd century (Bishop & Coulston, 1993, 156).
 
  

  
  Dark green patina with a pitted surface, some localised patches of bronze disease.  

The face is smooth and even suggesting that it has been cleaned after casting, whilst the reverse is very uneven.