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This copper-alloy mount or strap link was discovered by a metal- detectorist in June 2025, near Snape in Suffolk. It has few parallels, and most other similar items come from antiquarian stray finds. Based on its design, however, and comparisons with two examples from the Santon Hoard in Norfolk, which are dated to c.AD 50-60 and appear to have been relatively new when deposited, this style of mount is believed to belong to the late Iron Age or early Roman period. In particular, its primary phase of production and use is thought to have been around the middle decades of the 1st century AD.
This mount is a bit simpler than the earlier finds, consisting of a four-lobed shape with two opposed teardrop-shaped cutouts in the middle. On either side of these larger holes are a series of three small, circular indentations aligned horizontally. Based on other examples, which are often found with enamel or glass inlays, it is hypothesised that these holes may have once held the same. Around these six holes are a series of incised lines, forming two conjoined, comma-eared spirals that are then each surrounded by a circle. On the back of the mount are two flattened, rectangular attachment loops.
The main concentration of these mounts appears to be in central East Anglia, with a few outliers found in London, Gloucestershire, and Somerset. This find has been labelled one of national significance due to its completeness and rarity. The only other possible discovery made in similar circumstances is a small fragment found in Warwickshire in 2007, which was subsequently donated to the Market Hall Museum in Warwick (search for WMID-9460B5 on the Portable Antiquities Scheme website: https://finds.org.uk).
For more information about the mount, see https://finds.org.uk/database/artefacts/record/id/1237387 or search for SF-2A3A72 on the PAS database.
The Portable Antiquities Scheme is an initiative to encourage the recording of archaeological objects found by members of the public in England and Wales. For more information on the Scheme, and to browse its database of almost 1.8 million finds, visit www.finds.org.uk. Information on this find was provided by Anna Booth – Finds Liaison Officer for Suffolk.
Text: Kathryn Krakowka / Image: Sussex Archaeological Society
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