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Pocket Chape, near-complete (two conjoining fragments)

Part of a hoard of 39 bronze fragments representing a minimum of 38 artefacts discovered in a field following agricultural drainage work. All of the artefacts were reported as being discovered within an area of 2.4m (8 feet) of each other, of each other and at approximate depths of 20-30cm (8-12 inches).

The patination of the objects is consistent with them having been buried in a peaty peaty deposit, which has been known to result in a brown or black patina (Fontijn 2002,40). The hoard findspot was near small watercourse. A search of the Historic Environment Record (www.archwilio.org.uk) revealed no Bronze Age features of sites in the adjacent fields.

Detailed Description; This is a near-complete copper-alloy sword chape, surviving in two pieces and representing approximately 90% of the original complete object. The chape has a slightly trapezoidal shape, with straight sides which diverse slightly towards the base. Now slightly bent inwards, both faces would have originally been near-straight and slightly convergent. A single peg hole is visible down one side, located 11.2mm from the mouth.

The break edges along the rectangular shaped holes are within the patinated surface and are sufficiently eroded to suggest that this damage was caused in antiquity, possibly caused when the chape was struck with force by a narrow pointed object.

Brown patina, recent break edges have a light green powdery surface.