A HISTORY OF NORFOLK Though it will be observed that most of the known specimens come from the northern islands, where the Scandinavian and especially Nor- wegian influence was most felt, there is enough evidence to show that the Vikings, who were roving the northern seas in the ninth century, penetrated inland and were laid to rest on the banks of rivers which had given them access to the interior of England. As is generally the case, the brooches found at Santon were a pair, and are sufficiently preserved to afford a good idea of their original appearance. Each measures just over 4I inches in length, 3^^ inches in width, and just over i^ inches in height, having at the back a hinge upon which the iron pin moved and a catch into which it fastened. These tortoise brooches, as they are sometimes called, are made up of two bronze or other metal ' plates, which are domed and of oval plan, one fitting inside the other. The outer is gilt and orna- mented with open work and engraved interlacing designs after having been cast, and the inner plate is also gilt but quite plain and, showing through the openings of the outer case, gives a more handsome appear- ance to the whole. The method of casting is described by Canon Green- well and by Hans Hildebrand,^ to account for the impress of some textile on the inside of the brooch. A stone mould of the convex side was made, and in the hollow was laid one or possibly more than one thick- ness of cloth, which was then pressed down with clay to form the other half of the mould. The cloth was next burnt away and the molten metal introduced in its place ; so that the mould which had received an exact impression of the texture of the cloth transmitted it with similar fidelity to the surface of the bronze. On the front of both of these brooches are five pierced bosses produced in the casting, and four discs which evidently were originally set with thick studs of pearl, ivory, or some other perish- able substance, as the pins that held them are still in position. Some of the bosses were joined by threads of twisted silver wire, which ran in grooves along lines dividing the open-work panels. From a comparison with remains of a somewhat later period from the south-eastern shores of the Baltic, it is clear that these brooches were worn on the breast below both shoulders to fasten the upper garment, but were probably not connected with long hanging chains as are the Livonian specimens. The sword found with the pair of brooches is characteristic of the same period, and is of the ordinary Scandinavian form. It is now over 3 1 inches long, but has lost a portion at the point ; the grip of the handle, which has a pommel of three lobes, is 3^^ inches long, and the curved guard is nearly 4 inches wide from point to point. A very similar specimen, presented to the British Museum by Rev. Greville Chester, was dredged up from the Wensum at Norwich, and only differs in having a shorter guard, just overlapping the blade, the latter in both cases having had a shallow groove on each side from end to ' Dr. Anderson gives analyses to show that copper, zinc and lead enter into the composition of some specimens.
- Industrial Arts of Scandinavia in the Pagan Time, p. i 30.
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