Buckle

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This bronze buckle was found with a ringed pin at Ardskinish on Colonsay in the Inner Hebrides. They may be from a settlement find or perhaps the remains of a Viking grave. The buckle dates from around 875 to 925.

The well-preserved buckle narrows in the centre, where it is decorated by lines across the narrowest part. Two rivets survive for fastening the buckle to the strap. The buckle is insular in origin, made somewhere in the British Isles.

Leather does not survive unless conditions are favourable, but metal fittings like belt buckles and strap ends are often found. Belts were worn by Viking men. Simple and decorated buckles in metal and bone occur in graves.

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• Online ID: 000-100-036-349-C
• Image Rights Holder: National Museums Scotland
• Project: National Museums Scotland
  Project description   View all records in project
• Ref: National Museums Scotland  X.FC 191
• Date: Between 875 and 925
  
• Material: Bronze; with strap and mounting
  
• Dimensions:
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• Where: Scotland, Argyll, Colonsay, Ardskinish
  
• Event:
• Description: Bronze buckle with strap and mounting, from Ardskinish, Colonsay, Argyll
  
• References:
  • Graham-Campbell, James and Batey, Colleen E. Vikings in Scotland. An Archaeological Survey. Edinburgh: University Press, 1998, p 91. 
  • Grieg, Sigurd. Viking Antiquities in Scotland (=Viking Antiquities in Great Britain and Ireland, Part II, ed. by Haakon Shetelig). Oslo: H. Aschehoug & Co., 1940, p 61. 
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