It's true to say that anything Anglo-Saxon is rare.

 

Following the departure of the Romans in the fifth century A.D., Britain (along with much of the rest of Europe) became the destination of migrating Germanic tribes.

 

They were primarily farmers, and came to Britannia seeking land to cultivate. They preferred to live in their own wooden dwellings rather than the (now empty) stone-built Roman buildings, and they eschewed the city life for the farms and villages of the countryside.

 

It didn’t take many years before the old Roman towns became almost deserted.

 

This shift from an urban to an agrarian culture was a major factor in the onset of the 'Dark Age' in Western Europe. Soon, technological understanding diminished, knowledge and skills were lost, and beautiful little things like this 5th-8th century Saxon bronze buckle became very rare indeed.

 

Measuring just under 5cm in length, and with an excellent provenance, this unique piece of Britain's history could be yours to own.