File:Medieval Strap End Buckle (FindID 215844).jpg

English: A silvered copper alloy hollow-ended strap-end buckle of medieval date. Buckles of this time are sometimes referred to as "lyre"-shaped. The buckle measures 79.1mm by 43.7mm by 6.1mm and weighs 23.8g. It consists of a rectangular terminal and an elaborate openwork frame. The terminal is hollow and would have held a strap. This would have been kept in place with two separate rivets which remain in situ. The front is decorated with two incised four-pointed stars (one inside the other) which are surrounded by hatching. Between the terminal and the frame there is a narrowed plain waist. Adjacent to this is the aperture for the missing pin. The frame is slightly damaged but is broadly heart-shaped and is decorated with five small round holes through each of the straight sides. The outside edge is perforated with four small circular holes arranged in a square and is decorated with incised lines which radiate from the central point. There are traces of silvering on the front of the buckle. A similar although more elaborate buckle is illustrated in Ward-Perkin's 'London Museum Catalogue' (1967, p. 270, A2625). Using evidence from contemporary brasses, Ward-Perkins suggested that this type should be dated to c. 1390-1410 (p. 268). However, a number of excavated examples from London suggest that the type continued in use slightly longer (Egan 1991, pp. 102-106).