File:Anglo-Saxon silver Square Headed brooch (FindID 434590).jpg

English: Two fragments of an Anglo-Saxon square-headed brooch, made of silver, partly gilded and inlaid with niello. The headplate and foot are present however the bow is missing. The breaks are jagged and appear to be of relatively recent occurance.

The rectangular head plate is missing much of its lower edge. It is decorated with a raised three-sided frame containing two rows of niello-inlaid triangular cells. Within the frame is a panel of Style I ornament, with further Style I animals outside the frame. On the reverse of the headplate is a single pierced lug. The gilding does not continue onto the reverse.

The foot is broken just below the bow. It is decorated with a lozenge-shaped frame with concave sides, decorated with a single row of niello-inlaid triangles. The field within the frame contains Style I ornament, with further Style I animal(s) outside the frame in the footplate upper corners and lower borders. There are two circular holes within the ornament in the footplate upper corners. There is a terminal in the form of an animal-head seen from above, with two sub-triangular or pointed-oval eyes. On the reverse of the upper-part of the foot is a catchplate.

The Style I ornament and the animal mask terminal are gilded. The niello has mineralised to a silvery colour.

The closest parallel to this brooch on the PAS database was found in two pieces at Snetterton, Norfolk, and recorded at NMS-F29BC1(2008 T479) and NMS-750C07 (2008 T14). Both brooches appear to be small and early versions of the familiar Anglo-Saxon great square-headed brooch.

This brooch is likely to date from the first third of the sixth century AD, c. 500-530 AD. The object therefore fulfils the Treasure Act (1996) in that it is more than 300 years old and has a precious metal content exceeding 10%.