Jamie Hall

@primitivemethod.bsky.social

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Traditional goldsmith with a research interest in Early Medieval archaeology. In particular, complex gold hinges from the 6th and 7th centuries.

Zurich, St. Peter's Church, excavation 1970/71. Plan and grave goods of the heavily disturbed male grave 141, dated to around 600 AD, including parts of the belt (1, 2), seax (3), spatha (4), and associated belt set (5–8). Iron (1 silver-inlaid). 3 and 4 scale 1:4; other finds scale 1:2; grave plan approx. scale 1:20

A grid of diagrams, each one is a stylised buckle with a different hinge format, based on Late Roman/Early Medieval examples.

Belt buckle. Gilt and silvered bronze and glass paste, Visigothic Aquitaine, first half (?) of the 6th century. Found in 1868 in the Visigothic necropolis of Tressan, Provence.

The Harpole pendant, showing the hinge components off-set, with a gap on the left. This is unusual for hinges from Antiquity and the Early Medieval.

Necklace from Harpole, 7th century. Two pictures. On the left, the finds, arranged as a necklace. On the left, an illustration of the same. The central pendant is a repurposed half-hinge, in gold and garnets.

Pectoral from the princely tomb in Wolfsheim. A gold and garnet pectoral, repurposed from an older hinged object.

Gold buckle from the Thetford Treasure. Beaded wire edging on a rectangular buckle plate, with a figure of a Roman god, thought to be Faunus.

The Great Gold Buckle from Sutton Hoo, three different views showing unusual features. There are two completely different hinges. One is for the loop, and the other is for a hinged backplate that fastens with three sliding clips.