My first Saxon find
Metal detecting Buckinghamshire, this is the end of a 10th-12th century wavy rim horse shoe but judging by the design and history of the area I’ve narrowed it down to circa 1042-1066. These are very rare and info is limited, Saxons tried not to waste good iron on things like protecting their horses hoofs and would’ve rather used it for knives and other essentials leaving the horseshoe as a very prestigious high class item. I think this one is somehow related to the royal theign Edmer Atule who owned the town it was found in and was the only recorded wealthy Saxon to be associated with it. It may be from one of his men’s horses who were surveying the work of the farms or the local mill or possibly a wealthy visitor to the manor. Then again it could just be from a passerby along the icknield way. So interesting to think about what its story could be and how it was lost. If you’re wondering why it’s so clean I used rust electrolysis to remove the rust and I preserved it in wax to bring it back to its original metal without damaging the patina. Last photo is an example of a full one with the clear wavy rim caused by hammering the countersunk holes into the thin metal. Thanks for reading :)