File:Carolingian mount (FindID 544627).jpg

English: A copper alloy late 9th-10th century Carolingian trefoil mount/strap-distributor. The mount is decorated with a raised design that radiates from a central curved sided hexagram shaped motif out to the arms of the 'Y'. Each of the three arms has a trapezoidal raised shape widening toward the outer edges. The arms of the mount have three rivets on each straight side and there are small knobs on the centre points of each concave side. the reverse of the mount has a round cornered triangular hollow which does not reach to the ends of the arms. The back is undecorated but for the ends of the three sets of rivets. From the finders photograph the mount has a green patina overlaid by a buff coloured layer. In places this has rubbed off to expose a dark brownish surface. The corrosion products partly obscure the design.

A note by Barry Ager of the British Museum

The knobs between the arms of this trefoil mount are typical and the rows of rivets across the ends are like Carolingian strap-ends. Although these mounts are more often decorated with acanthus or vegetal ornament, there are one or two with rather simpler decoration, e.g. one perhaps from Norfolk that was submitted to the BM for identification via Norwich Museum in 1990. As far as I know, it is unpublished. Like this one from Bucks, it has square-ended arms with framed fields and its radiating pattern in the centre is similar to a fragment of another simple mount with round-ended arms from Maastricht-Amby that I published a note on: "Fragment of a Carolingian trefoil mount from a sword-belt, found at Maastricht-Amby", Publications de la Société Historique et Archéologique dans le Limbourg, 134-135, 1998-99, pp. 427-436.
The continental Carolingian versions of these strap-distributors appear in the first half of the 9th century and less elaborate ones like thisexample may be from around the late 9th, or even into the 10th, although it's difficult to be sure as they are usually found out of context, or the more elaborate ones are sometimes found in later hoards. It's been suggested the one from ?Norfolk shows Anglo-Scandinavian influence on the design and the Bucks piece appears to show an interlacing circle round the central 'hexagon', perhaps reflecting something similar. If so, perhaps both are later, local imitations of a Carolingian type rather than Carolingian per se. But, with so few examples from this country yet, I am not too sure on that point.