saddle-plate
- Museum number
- 1814,0705.29
- Description
-
Copper alloy saddle plate fragment. The greater part of what was almost certainly originally a square plate, although with only parts of two adjacent sides surviving absolute certainty is not possible. Symmetrically placed within the plain edges of the square is a repousse low umbonate disc with a raised perimeter rib and an omphaloid centre. Still corroded in position is a hollow-domed stud (head diam. 17 mm), apparently of iron, with a fragment of iron plate corroded to its head. A silver-grey coating, probably the remains of a lead or lead-tin solder, which evidently originally covered the whole front face of the plate, is still extensively preserved. In several places are remnants of the silver foil which it bonded. No identifiable rivets or rivet holes survive on the edges of the plate.
- Production date
- 1stC(late)-2ndC(early)
- Dimensions
-
Length: 113 millimetres
-
Weight: 58.10 grammes
-
Thickness: 0.90 millimetres
- Curator's comments
- The plate is Bishop's (1988) Type 3b. For similar plates from Doorweerth see Brouwer 1982: pis 8-9, esp. pi. 8, no. 195. For their use see ibid. pi.11, no. 3; Bishop 1988: 115, fig. 31; and Connolly 1988: 26. In all cases the side of the saddle cloth is decked with a pair of large plates (like nos 29 and 30), each flanked top and bottom by a smaller, rectangular, plate with a pair of small repousse discs. Examples of the latter type were found at Newstead (Curie 1911: pi. LXXII). They were from Pit LV, which also yielded the closest parallel to junction phalera 1814,0705.7. For the likely mode of attachment of saddle plates see Bishop 1988:110. fig. 28. Both the Doorweerth and Newstead examples date to the late 1st century AD.
- Location
- On display (G49/dc8)
- Acquisition date
- 1814
- Department
- Britain, Europe and Prehistory
- Registration number
- 1814,0705.29