Re-evaluating base-metal artefacts: an inscribed lead strap-end from Crewkerne, Somerset

Thomas, G. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0311-8218, Payne, N. and Okasha, O. (2008) Re-evaluating base-metal artefacts: an inscribed lead strap-end from Crewkerne, Somerset. Anglo-Saxon England, 37. pp. 173-181. ISSN 0263-6751 doi: 10.1017/S0263675109990196

Abstract/Summary

Strap-ends represent the most common class of dress accessory known from late Anglo-Saxon England. At this period, new materials, notably lead and its alloys, were being deployed in the manufacture of personal possessions and jewellery. This newly found strap-end adds to the growing number of tongue-shaped examples fashioned from lead dating from this period. It is, however, distinctive in being inscribed with a personal name. The present article provides an account of the object and its text, and assesses its general significance in the context of a more nuanced interpretation of the social status of lead artefacts in late Anglo-Saxon England.