11-24-2012, 02:17 PM
Quote:Not quite a belt plate but an enamelled strap end was found at Exeter, if military it would be mid to late first cent though i am unsure of the date of it. Aparently an allmost identical onewas found at Chesters. Sorry but i have no pic, only a drawing of it from Roman Finds From Exeter by N Holbrook and P Bidwell.It supposedly came from a late-1st-century pit cutting the underlying barrack blocks so a couple of scenarios present themselves: it dates to the time of the fortress and was disturbed by the pit; it dates to the time of the town and has nothing to do with the fortress. Of course, other scenarios are possible. It is certainly one of the pieces of evidence for the beginnings of a taste for enamel on military belt fittings in the late 1st/early 2nd centuries (but don't forget the army had long been used to the technique being employed on dagger scabbards).
Mike Bishop
