English: Description: A complete silver object, with an iron infill on the reverse. It consists of a semi-circular loop with a central rectangular aperture, beneath which extends a short narrowed neck which in turn joins an inverted triangular-shaped body. The upper surfaces of all three elements are rounded, but the reverses are differently shaped; the loop has a hollowed reverse, the neck is very slightly dished, and the reverse of the triangular part is flat. The loop and the triangular body of the mount have zoomorphic relief decoration, but the neck is undecorated.

The apex of the triangle terminates in a well-formed three-dimensional Borre-style animal head, with round pellet eyes, a double curve for an eyebrow emphasised by contour grooves, and further grooved mouldings running obliquely from the broad snout to the outer edge of the eyes.

Behind the animal head is an intertwined body, in Jellinge or Borre style. A major part of the animal, perhaps its body, consists of an S-shaped line of pellets with a ridged border to either side. Other elements are made up from narrower double-ridged lines which interlace over and under each other and the pelleted element, but it is difficult to see how they are linked and whether the narrower lines are legs or, perhaps, a tail. There is a foot in the upper left-hand corner, with two toes, but again it is difficult to see where this springs from, partly because there is what appears to be a circular rivet hole here, close to the edge in the centre of the base of the triangle, surrounded by a thin concentric ridge. There is a second, smaller rivet hole at the apex of the triangle just behind the terminal, without any surrounding ridge; both have lost their rivets and are blocked with iron. Small circular scars can be seen within the iron on the reverse.

The illustrator has shown another two-toed foot in the middle of the left-hand side, which is at the end of a double-strand leg which emerges from the end of the pelleted body, but this is less clear in the photograph. An alternative interpretation is that the element in the middle of the left-hand side is in fact a profile head, with a rounded, slightly upturned snout, from the back of which emerges the pelleted body.

Similar decoration can be found on the curved part of the D-shaped loop, but the narrow neck and the centre of the straight part of the loop is undecorated. There appears to be a distinct step between the relief-decorated parts and the undecorated area. The decoration is again difficult to decode, but a pelleted ribbon and some double-strand elements can be seen; there may be one or two animals represented. A third rivet hole, in the centre of the curved part, retains a rivet made from non-ferrous metal. The inside of the loop and the decoration are not obviously worn.

The reverse of the object is thick with iron encrustation, possibly the remains of the object to which the mount was attached. The iron does not extend beyond the edges of the mount nor within the aperture, and there is no indication that it ever did.

Dimensions: length 89.13 mm, width 33.1 mm, thickness: 10.28 mm. Weight 60.51 g.

Analysis: The material from which the mount is made was at first uncertain, and it was thought to be a high-tin bronze or base silver. Non-destructive X-ray fluorescence analysis indicated a surface silver content of approximately 95%, alloyed with copper and with trace impurities of lead. The analysis detected mercury and gold which suggests it was originally fire-gilded. The brown material on the back was confirmed as iron (Department of Conservation and Scientific Research, The British Museum, File No. 7513 36, 25/10/2013).

Discussion and Date: A few similar objects have been tracked down by Barry Ager. A similarly sized iron object interpreted as a late 9th-century 'rein-shackle' from a bridle was found at San Vincenzo al Volturno (Mitchell 1994, 136, fig. 8C, pl. 12 top left). This appears to have a similar concept behind the form, although the proportions are rather different. In John Mitchell's reconstruction drawing of the bridle and fittings (1994, Fig. 10) the object connects one of the reins to a short strap fixed to the cheek-ring of a snaffle bit; the rein is passed through the wide rectangular loop, around the narrowed neck (which is longer) and back through the loop. Mitchell gives a list of other rein-shackles from Germany, Switzerland, Hungary and Slovakia (1994, 136, n. 26) which has not yet been further investigated.

Nad'a Profantová illustrates an object from Čáslav-Hrádek in central Bohemia, Czech Republic, apparently of Moravian origin and ultimately based on a Frankish type (Profantová 2011, fig. 12.3), together with two others, less similar; one from Hradsko near Mšeno, also in Central Bohemia, probably a 9th-century, Frankish import; and another from Nemětice in southern Bohemia, Czech Republic, in inlaid iron, of either Moravian or Western origin (Profantová 2011, fig. 12.1-2). Burial evidence suggests that the Czech mounts were used on sword-belts to join two straps, although their exact function is not yet clear.

The rivets on the object from the Twyford area may similarly have been designed to link two straps via the rivet holes and the loop, but an interpretation as a harness fitting does not seem to account for the iron on the reverse. The narrowness of the opening in the loop of the find from the Twyford area seems perhaps more appropriate for a sword-belt.

This is a highly unusual find, with decoration different to that on any parallel yet found. The presence of such an object in a British context is of considerable interest and importance. It is likely that it dates from the 9th to 10th century AD.