File:Gold Anglo-Saxon mount (2006 T84) side profile view (FindID 189836).jpg

English: Gold and garnet setting. Report done by Sonja Marzinzik of The British Museum. An Anglo-Saxon, round gold and garnet setting, now damaged. The central quatrefoil cell is now empty. It is surrounded by four semi-circular cloisons. Two of them still contain garnets (cracked) and there are garnet splinters in a third cell. The fourth cell has lost its garnet but still contains the wafered gold backing foil. A triple frame surrounds this arrangement: The plain cell border is set inside a very fine beaded wire ring and the outer edge of the object is framed by a twisted bead wire. The plain, round back-plate of the object still preserves its means of attachment. A gold strip had been bent into a cylinder and then fixed (?soldered) to the back of the setting. The other end of the setting has been cut, resulting in narrow strips which were folded outward. There are now six strips preserved but gaps indicate that originally there would have been eight. Without a doubt, these strips originally fitted through an opening in a larger object and thus fixed stud. In the very middle of this cylinder, the end of a rivet shank penetrating the back plate is still visible.

It is not entirely clear what this stud actually is. Without a doubt, it was originally part of a larger object. Due to its shape and the presence cloisonné cells, it could be the central boss from an Anglo-Saxon plated disc or composite brooch. The triple frame would support this view and the stud would have been similar to those on brooches such as from Sarre or Kingston (Avent 1975,ii, plates 67, 68). These settings are now increasingly common finds. Other comparable settings were found at Bidford-on-Avon, Warwickshire in 2001 (Treasure Annual Review 2001, no. 38), near Mildenhall, Suffolk (2005 T510) and at Haslingfield, Suffolk (2005 T558). An unpublished swivel mount in the British Museum (Reg. no. 1144.'70), possibly from a sword harness, and an unpublished stud, possibly from a sword sheath (Reg. no. 1905,0418.16), are similar to the present object. Both were found in Kent and the former piece also is attached to the mount by an, albeit much longer, metal cylinder. Lastly, a composite pendant from Canterbury (Webster and Backhouse 1991, 26 and fig 10) has a central setting that matches the type from Farthingstone.

Non-destructive X-ray fluorescence analysis of the surface indicated a gold content of 80-82%, silver content of 15-17%, the rest being copper. The red stones were identified by Raman spectroscopy as garnets.

Dimensions: Diam 1.9cm; H 0.6cm (incl. cylinder on back); H 0.3cm (excl. cylinder on back); Weight 1.94 grams.

Note: This find qualifies as Treasure under the Treasure Act of 1996.