Strap fastener

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This enamelled bronze strap fastener was found during excavations at the site of the Roman fort at Newstead in Roxburghshire. It could have been used on either harness or a belt. It dates from between 80 and 180 AD.

The fastener is of a button-and-loop type, with a triangular loop below, just visible in this picture. It was used with two straps: one strapfastened through the loop, and the button would fix through the eye in thesecond strap. The surface is decorated with blue enamel arranged in 12petal-like areas.

The use of enamel decoration was popular among native people in Scotland and northern Britain for prestigious objects, and was even adopted for some Roman objects. The glass used was recycled from imported objects or scrap material.

Record details

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• Online ID: 000-180-001-825-C
• Image Rights Holder: National Museums Scotland
• Project: National Museums Scotland Part 2
  Project description   View all records in project
• Ref: National Museums Scotland  X.FRA 843
• Date: Between 80 and 180 AD
  
• Material: Enamelled
  Stud
  
• Dimensions:
• What: Stud
  
• Subject:
• Who: Newstead Collection
  
• Where: Scotland, Roxburghshire, Melrose, Newstead
  
• Event:
• Description: Stud, enamelled with a triangular loop, from the Roman site at Newstead
  
• References:
  • Curle, J. A Roman frontier post and its people: the fort of Newstead. Glasgow: MacLehose, 1911, p 333, Pl LXXXIX, 22. 
• Translations:
• Related Records: