Two Carolingian Strap-ends on Exhibition in Želiezovce (okr. Levice / SK)

Abstract

In this paper, the author analyses two strap-ends from the Municipal Museum of Želiezovce. They were found in 2015, close to each other, in a field located to the west of the town. The larger fitting is made of bronze and the decorative element on the front was done using the chip-carving technique. The obverse of the fitting is gilded. It is a typical example of a U-shaped strap-end decorated in the Carolingian plant style. The similarities between the artefact from Želiezovce and the fittings from the elite grave in Stará Kouřim (okr. Kolín / CZ) leave us in no doubt that this item should be dated to the first half of the 9th century, possibly the second quarter. The smaller fitting is also made of bronze, but both sides of the item are gilded. It has a characteristic inset and openwork decoration. The stylistic and typological features of the smaller fitting from Želiezovce could be dated to the turn of the 8th and 9th centuries or the first third of the 9th century.
The dating of both artefacts based on their typology, as well as images decorating the Stuttgart Psalter, strongly supports the hypothesis that the fittings could have been worn together or even have come from a single set. Future archaeological research will show whether these items are related to the foundations of the early medieval church discovered in 1932 and to other early medieval finds from Želiezovce-Kostolná area. It seems possible to identify an unknown early medieval local centre.