Copper-alloy, 14.79 grams, 34.62 mm. Circa 6th-7th century AD. A cast copper-alloy belt or strap buckle of kidney-shaped profile, formed with hollow underside. The tongue is made from a length of flat-section bar, looped around the rear of the buckle. The forward edge is provided with a couch for the tongue which curves over it. Buckles of this kind formed part of the customary dress for middle-ranking males and females in Merovingian Francia and south-east England. Reference: Nice, A. Revue Archéologique de Picardie. La Nécropole Mérovingienne de Goudelancourt-lès-Pierrepont (Aisne), Amiens, 2008 page 179 item S204. Very fine condition. Provenance: from an old English collection.