Sugar-Loaf Shield Bosses

Abstract

The descriptionZuckerhuthas been used in German publications to distinguish the tall shield bosses of the eighth century which have certain variations in form but remain constant in being unusually tall in proportion to their width. The term is taken from the shape of the clay mould in which, as late as the end of the nineteenth century, sugar was left to drain and set, the walls of the resulting sugar-loaves being usually slightly convex, rising to a point. ‘Sugar-loaf’ is therefore used here as a general term for the whole species of shield boss of tall proportions, but more specifically for the high, curved cone. The straight-sided cone may be more properly referred to as conical. Some of these have been noticed in England, and as they begin at the end of the pagan period when grave goods are sparse, it seemed likely that a study of them with their associated finds and relations overseas might provide a useful contribution to this part of Saxon chronology. It must be remembered that examination of shield bosses of this period is often made difficult by a thick coating of rust with other accretions, but the inside is sometimes less affected and yields more information. Although every effort has been made towards accuracy, it is possible that details may have been missed which might become visible after cleaning, but a number of the bosses are so fragmentary that further treatment would not seem to be advisable.