Treasure Annual Report 1998-1999 - Portable Antiquities Scheme

Premiers Siècles du Moyen Age (Paris, 1900), no. 284),
while combined filigree and punch-work occurs on a
6th–7th-century gold ring from near Belluno, Italy
(British Museum registration no. M&LA AF.530). In
the light of such parallels it is possible that the
Willoughby on the Wolds ring is a Continental
import of the time.
Disposition: Nottingham City Museums hope to
acquire the find.
Valuation: To be determined.
(fig. 50) Willoughby on the Wolds
51 Burghwallis, South Yorkshire: Anglo-Saxon
silver-gilt wrist-clasp fragment
B AGER
Date: Early to mid 6th century
Finder: Mr D Pearce
Date of discovery: August 1999
Circumstances of discovery: While searching with a
metal-detector.
Description: A flat, ovoid plate of silver, the front
gilded, and with two holes for sewing to a garment in
a strip to one side and a break above it. The object
forms part of one-half of a pair of matching hook-andeye
plates worn to fasten the sleeves of a woman’s
dress. It is a high-quality example, decorated with a
nielloed border and an animal head design in Salin’s
Treasure Annual Report 1998 - 1999 27
Early Medieval Artefacts
Style I with a running scroll on the neck, belonging
to Hines’s form C1 of the early to mid-6th century AD
(J Hines, Clasps, Hektespenner, Agraffen. Anglo-Saxon
clasps of classes A-C of the 3rd to 6th centuries AD (1993),
67–73.) It has a close parallel in another clasp of the
same form from Great Chesterford, Essex (ibid., fig.
131a). Height: 24 mm; weight: 4.3g. Analysis of the
metal of the clasp at the British Museum established a
silver content of approximately 85 per cent silver.
Disposition: Awaiting valuation; Doncaster Museum
and Art Gallery hopes to acquire the find.
52 Eriswell (RAF Lakenheath), Suffolk (1): Anglo-
Saxon grave burial containing bridle fittings
with appliqué silver mount
(Fig. 52)
B AGER
Date: Mid-6th century
Finder: Suffolk County Council Archaeological Service
Date of discovery: October 1997
Circumstances of discovery: Controlled
archaeological investigation.
Description: The horse and rider grave at Lakenheath
is exceptional – not only in the context of the
cemetery in which it was placed, but also in the early
Anglo-Saxon period as a whole. The grave, dating
from the middle of the 6th century, is covered by a
low mound and surrounded by the graves of children,
both suggesting status and a singular position in the
local community. The burial of the dead man’s mount
is also an expression of status, but the ornamented
bridle that the horse was wearing may suggest status
beyond that of the immediate community.
The dead man was buried in a coffin which lay
against the south wall of the large rectangular grave
pit. His horse lay facing the coffin with its back
against the north wall of the grave and its legs folded
against the coffin edge. Its muzzle faced towards an
iron bound wooden bucket. It was saddled and bridled
for burial. Despite the elaborate style of burial, the
personal possessions and weapons of the dead man are