English: Cast copper alloy object that appears to be one side of a hinge from a robust item such as chest or other piece of furniture. It is rectangular in plan with rounded edges and a convex front. The front has four concave curved sides leading up to a central flat rectangle. The back is concave with an indented rectangle with angled sides within a less indented border. While the back broadly follows the form of the front it is simplified leaving quite thick areas of cast metal between the two at some points. Attached to the lower edge of one of the shorter sides are two sections of a cylinder, one at each edge taking up a third of the width of the side, with a gap in the centre. These are transversely drilled to hold a pin and, in combination with a middle section from another piece, created a hinge. They project below the level of the back of the rest of the object suggesting they projected clear of the edge of what ever it was attached to. There is no evidence of attachment method although it appears to be a large item to be attached by solder. It is 47.9mm long by 27.9mm wide, 19.7mm thick including the hinge cylinders, 14.9mm thick excluding them and weighs 50.59 grams.

The item appears on stylistic grounds to be Roman. It has been examined by S. Worrell, Roman finds advisor to the PAS who agreed with a Roman date. She comments that stylistically it is similar to a Roman handle escutcheon from excavations at Springhead in Kent (Biddulph, Seager Smith, and Schuster:246, no. 193) although that example was copper alloy sheet and therefore much less robust and had two attachment holes. SOMDOR-D208C5 on this database form Somerset is a lock plate, perhaps from a similar casket. It is also cast with a raised rectangular centre although the edges of the plate are more decorative than this piece.