File:Late Saxon Anglo-Scandinavian Class A Type 10B Stirrup Strap Mount (FindID 229731).jpg

English: A cast copper alloy Late Saxon Anglo-Scandinavian stirrup strap mount with openwork decoration. The mount has an arched shaped plan with an integral loop at the apex, a convex front and concave back with integral stepped flange. The suspension loop is circular in shape and exhibits extensive iron corrosion perhaps a short section of the now missing iron fitting. The flange at the base of the mount is similarly corroded to the extent that it is uncertain how many suspension or fixing holes there may once have been. On the back of the mount rising upwards from the flange is the remains of a thin copper alloy backing plate that follows the shape of the inner edge of the mount. The majority of this backing plate is now missing due to old breaks, with just a small section visible in the lower few millimeters of the mount. There are seemingly no perforations for suspension on the front or reverse face of the mount itself.

The front face of the mount has elaborate openwork decoration in Urnes style. At the centre of the mount is a coiled and interlaced zoomorphic creature cast in high relief. It is approximately s-shaped with a long neck and the head at the apex of the mount turned downwards, with circular ears clearly visible at the top. The body of the beast is entwined with tendrils. Running the length of the creature's spine is a groove inlaid with niello that has an added central wavy line of silver wire, much of which is now missing. On the outside of the front face the creature is framed by the edges of the mount, which are square in section and have a similar groove with inlaid niello and additional central wavy band of inlaid silver wire. This niello band follows the edge of the mount with the exception of the lower right hand corner where the tail of the beast expands to the outer edge of the mount.

The mount measures 55.62mm in height, 34.25mm in width, 6.42mm in thickness, and weighs 40.22g.

The decoration and shape of this mount suggest that it falls into Williams' Type A, Class 10B mounts and reflects Urnes/Anglo-Scandinavian influences (see Williams, 1997: 2-13, 53-57). A similar example is published by Williams from Linton in Cambridgeshire (Williams, 1997: no. 190). What appears unusual with regard to the current example is the use of a copper alloy backplate and the presence of inlaid niello decoration, which is not recorded on any of Williams' Class 10B mounts. The decoration is, however, similar to Williams' Class 10A no. 176, albeit with a slightly different shaped mount.

In terms of date, Type A stirrup mounts are placed in the Late Saxon period, although contextual data is limited (Williams, 1997: 8). They appear to have had a relatively short period of usage spanning the 11th century AD, and this example should date to between c.1050-1100 AD or a little later.