Rock crystal buckle with a silver tongue

Merovingian, early to mid-6th century AD
Found in a grave near Châlons-sur-Marne, Marne, France

The buckle is probably from a belt. The hoop of rock crystal would have been cut and polished in the East Mediterranean region. Special skill was required to cut this stone, which was not possessed in the West. The buckle may have reached France in one of a variety of ways: by trade across the Mediterranean, as a diplomatic gift, or with a warrior who had come from the Lower Danube area.

H. Tait, Seven thousand years of jewe-1, exh. cat. (London, The British Museum Press, 1986)