Sibertswold Downs Grave 95

Pretty large tumulus; grave three feet arid a half deep. The coffin appeared to have been very thick, and to have passed the fire; the bones were pretty sound. Here were the blade of a knife, of about the usual make, but rather longer, namely, nine inches besides the strig; and the blade of another knife, as before: these were near the middle of the grave; as were also a large silver gilt (as it seems) brass buckle [M 6489]; and a square piece of silver gilt; they are each of them ornamented with engraved lines, just alike, on their fronts, and have each of them fourloops underneath; by these they were without doubt fixed to the belt, and I suppose they met together, when the belt was buckled. The tongue of the buckle cannot be raised up in order either to admit or to dismiss the end of the belt, but the bow of the buckle must be let down; a good contrivance, certainly, to hinder the belt or girdle from coming unbuckled of itself.[1][1][Images below from Pl. 8 and 9] give various examples of this peculiarity of the Saxon buckles, which is also to be noticed in those of the Franks and Alemanni. The tongues of some of these buckles are worn by the friction of the extremities of the girdle which passed over the tongues, compressing them down upon the bow of the buckle.- C.R.S.