Strap ends

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These bronze strap ends are part of the harness equipment found in a man's grave at Kiloran Bay on Colonsay in the Inner Hebrides. He was buried in a boat between 875 and 925 with a range of Scandinavian weapons, tools and a pin, together with his horse.

Two of the strap ends are a matched pair, and the third is of similar design. They are also similar to other harness fittings found in the grave, decorated with incised patterns and with domes concealing rivets which attached the strap ends to the leather.

Metal strap ends were attached to leather straps, both for horse harness and human belt fittings, to protect the ends of leather or textile straps. The leather and textiles rarely survive, but the metal fittings, often ornamented, are fairly common.

Record details

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• Online ID: 000-000-099-802-C
• Image Rights Holder: National Museums Scotland
• Project: Kiloran Bay Viking Burial (multimedia essay)
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• Ref: National Museums Scotland  
• Date: Between 875 and 925
  
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• References:
  • Graham-Campbell, James and Batey, Colleen E. Vikings in Scotland. An Archaeological Survey. Edinburgh: University Press, 1998, pp 118-22. 
  • Grieg, Sigurd. Viking Antiquities in Scotland (=Viking Antiquities in Great Britain and Ireland, Part II, ed. by Haakon Shetelig). Oslo: H. Aschehoug & Co., 1940, pp 48-61, esp. pp 53, 57-8. 
  • Ritchie, Anna. Viking Scotland London: B.T. Batsford Ltd/Historic Scotland, 1993, pp 79-84.
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