https://www.ukdfd.co.uk/templates/general_wide/img/logo.png https://www.ukdfd.co.uk/ https://www.ukdfd.co.uk/artefact/medieval.html https://www.ukdfd.co.uk/artefact/medieval/strap-ends/strap-end-59209.html Sat, 28 Mar 2026 16:33:09 GMT Strap-ends  

Description:		A composite three-piece strap-end comprising sheet front and back plates and a cast forked spacer. The attachment edge is straight and square, and the spacer has a single-collared, acorn-shaped terminal knop. There are two visible rivet holes with surviving copper-alloy rivets, one at the attachment end for retaining the strap, and one immediately above the knop for securing the front and back plates. There is possibly a second strap-retaining rivet closer to the attachment edge, but not discernible on the images. The front plate is decorated with a border of punch-marks; the back plate is plain.
Category:		Medieval, Strap-ends
Category:		Strap-ends

]]> https://www.ukdfd.co.uk/artefact/medieval/mounts/castle-shaped-mount-59195.html Sat, 21 Mar 2026 16:07:22 GMT Mounts  

Description:		A cast copper-alloy mount moulded in the shape of a three-turreted castle with an open gate or door.  The mount has three holes for attachment, all of which retain copper-alloy rivets.  See also UKDFD 57151, PAS: BH-B04142 and harness-pendant suspension mount, UKDFD 31602.
Category:		Medieval, Mounts
Category:		Mounts

]]> https://www.ukdfd.co.uk/artefact/medieval/buckles-and-buckle-plates/clasp-fasteners/folding-strap-clasp-59164.html Sun, 01 Mar 2026 16:08:48 GMT Clasp fasteners  

Description:		A composite single loop folding strap clasp consisting of frame and rotating closure. The frame is rectangular, formed from a sheet-metal strip and fitted with a separate spindle for the closure. The rotating closure is of sheet metal and is decorated with two incised saltires.
Category:		Medieval, Buckles and buckle plates, Clasp fasteners
Category:		Clasp fasteners

]]> https://www.ukdfd.co.uk/artefact/medieval/keys-and-locks/casket-key-59163.html Sun, 01 Mar 2026 13:48:49 GMT Keys and locks  

Description:		A crude medieval casket key made from folded copper-alloy sheet. The key has a sub-circular bow with a concentric sub-circular aperture, a hollow shank and a simple bit.
Category:		Medieval, Keys and locks
Category:		Keys and locks

]]> https://www.ukdfd.co.uk/artefact/medieval/pilgrim-souvenirs-and-secular-badges/pilgrim-s-souvenir-59156.html Thu, 26 Feb 2026 19:33:25 GMT Pilgrim souvenirs and secular badges  

Description:		A circular cast lead or lead-alloy pilgrim's souvenir of the late medieval period. The front of the object depicts the sacred monogram, IhC, in black letter style on a field of leafy fronds. The abbreviation mark through the h has been worked into a crown, and the whole design is encircled by an ornate beaded border. The back of the object has a mould-joint ridge and the stump of a central shank. Interestingly, the stone mould referenced below was used to produce roundels of identical design to the present type. It was found at King Manor, Clarendon in 1887. The author in describing the roundels comments: "Surviving roundels of this kind appear not to have been designed as pilgrim badges, however. Examples with the Ihs monogram have turned up at London, Coventry and Bristol, as well as Salisbury, and these are fitted with a long rivet, not a pin. One of the London finds was riveted to a piece of wood and not to a complete paten, as stated in Mitchiner 1986, p 194. Other examples with central rivets are decorated with figures of saints, the Five Wounds, the vernicle, rose, crown and sunburst. Clearly they cannot be called paten centres, but they may perhaps have been made for the thick bases of wooden drinking-bowls, the cheap equivalent of prints from mazer bowls, like the copper alloy print 'enamelled' with a crowned heart containing the sacred monogram on a late fourteenth-century maplewood mazer belonging to St John's Hospital, Canterbury." See also UKDFD 26680.
Category:		Medieval, Pilgrim souvenirs and secular badges
Category:		Pilgrim souvenirs and secular badges

]]> https://www.ukdfd.co.uk/artefact/medieval/miscellaneous/cross-59153.html Thu, 26 Feb 2026 17:11:33 GMT Miscellaneous  

Description:		An incomplete cast lead cross with moulded decoration on both sides. The horizontal arms of the cross expand radially and have convex ends, whereas the vertical arms taper slightly and continuously from the top of the cross to the bottom. The lower vertical arm is longer than the other three, but broken across a hole near its bottom end. One side of the cross is decorated on the three uppermost arms with rosettes of pellets within circles, and on the lower vertical arm with a herringbone design. The other side depicts a crudely moulded figure with outstretched arms. The figure is depicted in a relaxed posture with elbows bent and feet apart, so it seems unlikely that the intention was to portray a crucifixion scene (cf. crucifix, UKDFD 38298). A more likely possibility is that the figure represents a saint, as is the case with several of the generally similar crosses illustrated in the article cited in References below. The broken hole at the bottom of the cross suggests that it was attached to a cord or chain, possibly secured in turn to the owner's belt. Unless a suspension loop has been lost from the top of the cross, it is less likely that it was worn as a pendant around the neck, as the figure would be displayed upside down. The belief that the wearing or carrying of religious symbols protected against evil was strongly held, and the practice would have been particularly prevalent at the time of the Black Death, when there was a heightened fear of infection and death.
Category:		Medieval, Miscellaneous
Category:		Miscellaneous

]]> https://www.ukdfd.co.uk/artefact/medieval/brooches/annular-brooch-59154.html Thu, 26 Feb 2026 17:14:30 GMT Brooches  

Description:		A large open-frame annular brooch of medieval date. The frame is plain with a flattened oval cross-section and a recess to locate the pin. The pin survives but is slightly bent at the centre. It is very slender and of parallel rectangular cross-section with a rounded tip.
Category:		Medieval, Brooches
Category:		Brooches

]]> https://www.ukdfd.co.uk/artefact/medieval/keys-and-locks/casket-key-59148.html Thu, 26 Feb 2026 15:52:29 GMT Keys and locks  

Description:		A very small cast copper-alloy casket key of probable late medieval to early post-medieval date. The key has a single-collared open quatrefoil bow, solid oval section shank, and large bulleted bit.
Category:		Medieval, Keys and locks
Category:		Keys and locks

]]> https://www.ukdfd.co.uk/artefact/medieval/buckles-and-buckle-plates/circular-buckles/brooch-buckle-59143.html Sun, 08 Feb 2026 13:37:31 GMT Circular buckles  

Description:		A copper-alloy brooch/buckle of the medieval period. The frame, now distorted, is circular in section and has two opposing zoomorphic projections, probably representing snake heads. The heads are turned over inwards to act as hook mechanisms. There are opposing restrictions on the inner surface of the frame, which held the central bar and possibly a plate, the pin is missing. See also UKDFD 43830  -  UKDFD 57991
Category:		Medieval, Buckles and buckle plates, Circular buckles
Category:		Circular buckles

]]> https://www.ukdfd.co.uk/artefact/medieval/buckles-and-buckle-plates/single-loop-buckles/single-loop-oval-buckle-with-plate-59141.html Tue, 03 Feb 2026 17:35:56 GMT Single loop buckles  

Description:		A single loop oval buckle with wire pin and folded sheet-metal plate. The frame is slightly expanded at the outer end, and has a narrowed and offset strap bar. The plate is sub-rectangular, slightly recessed for the frame and slotted for the pin. It has one rivet hole with intact copper-alloy rivet at the attachment end.
Category:		Medieval, Buckles and buckle plates, Single loop buckles
Category:		Single loop buckles

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