c.11th century A.D. A bronze strap fitting with swivel and pierced tag; the body barrel-shaped, hollow to the underside with an internal socket, rounded lip to the rim; tapering body with high-relief decoration, including hares and a pair of birds with long necks each looped over a curved tendril; gussetted transverse band and rectangular lobe with transverse slot and two piercings for attachment to a (leather) strap. See Hammond, B., British Artefacts vol.3 - Late Saxon, Late Viking & Norman, Witham, 2013 items 1.13-n, o, p, s, for the type of object. Recorded with the Portable Antiquities Scheme under reference DUR-603351. 34.2 grams, 41 mm high (55 grams total, 75 x 53 mm including box) (1 5/8 in. (3 x 2 in."). Found whilst searching with a metal detector in Ryedale, North Yorkshire, UK, on 26 May 2021. Apanied by a copy of Portable Antiquities Scheme (PAS) report number DUR-603351. The fitting clearly forms one element in a swivelling junction possibly from a horse-harness. The hollow body, which originally contained ferrous remains, was designed to accept the iron pin of a corresponding tag. The upper lobe was designed to accept the end of a leather or textile strap, rivetted through the paired holes. [A video of this lot is available to view on Timeline Auctions ]Condition Report: Fine condition.