Merovingian belt buckle with a tongue-shaped plate with silver and brass wire inlay, made in Europe, possibly France, 7th century

Belt buckle of iron, damascened with interlaced ornamentation in gold and silver. The buckle plate has five dome-headed rivets and the base of the tongue carries an enlarged tongue-shield.

Bought for 2l in 1858

Buckles such as this were popular in large parts of early medieval north-western Europe. Similar pieces are known from the northern French-Belgian regions inhabited by the Franks to the Alamanic regions of Switzerland and south-western Germany.

The intricated animal ornament consists of beaked, snake-like animals which are interlaced in the so-called Style II defined by Edward Salin. Although inlaid iron buckles such as these are very rare in Anglo-Saxon England, the art style was known as well. The large gold buckle from Sutton Hoo, for instance, is also decorated with intertwined snakes and it has been suggested that the interlace represents an attempt to ban negative forces by literally tying them up (Hawkes 1997).

A splendid buckle like this would have been a costly item that not everyone could have afforded. It may originally have formed part of a larger suite, with a matching counter plate. It dates to the 7th century A.D. or perhaps to the end of the 6th century.

Although we don't know where this buckle came from, it may well have been found in a grave, buried with its owner.

A splendid buckle like this would have been a costly item that not everyone could have afforded. It may originally have formed part of a larger set of adornments, with a matching counter plate. The buckle is decorated with fabulous beaked snakes in an interlace pattern, a popular motif on jewellery of the late sixth and early seventh centuries. The large gold buckle from Sutton Hoo, for instance, is also decorated with intertwined snakes and it has been suggested that the interlace represents an attempt to counter negative forces by literally tying them up. Although we don't know where this buckle came from, it may well have been found in a grave, buried with its owner.

4510-1858