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South Uist
Findspot (21st Century), Fastening (Silver)(Period Unknown)
Site Name South Uist
Classification Findspot (21st Century), Fastening (Silver)(Period Unknown)
Canmore ID 370450
Site Number NF74SE 44
NGR NF 75 41
Datum OSGB36 - NGR
Permalink http://canmore.org.uk/site/370450
- Council Western Isles
- Parish South Uist
- Former Region Western Isles Islands Area
- Former District Western Isles
- Former County Inverness-shire
Metal Detector Find
NF 75 41 A silver wire object was recovered through metal-detecting. The object comprises a circular-sectioned wire shaped into a loop, the ends of which are twisted together and bent up at the tip. The object is 23.5mm in length, 11mm in width and weighs 0.4g. The object was found in proximity to the Norse settlement at Drinmore and may be early medieval in date. Similar twisted silver wire loops in the 9th century Hon Hoard appear to have functioned to attach beads to a necklace. However, copper-alloy twisted wire loops are well-represented from urban excavations in Scotland and England from contexts dating to the fifteenth to seventeenth centuries, and the date of the South Uist example must therefore remain uncertain. The copper-alloy versions have variously been interpreted as shroud or dress fastenings, as well as possibly strengthening elements for purses. It makes sense that an object of such simple form and function would be represented across a wide period.
Claimed as Treasure Trove (TT 145/19) and allocated to
Museum nan Eilean
Lydia Prosser – National Museums Scotland
(Source: DES Volume 21)
