Some interesting early buckles from a revisited colonial site

[Bill D. (VA)]

My buddy Dan and I got together last weekend to hit one of our old sites from last year where the corn had recently been cut. We spent most of the day wandering with little to show for our efforts, and got soaked in the process from the occasional downpours that kept cropping up. Near the end of our hunt we ended up in an area where we'd found a load of small iron last season, but quickly moved on due to the lack of finds. But this time we decided to hunker down and hit it slowly and more thoroughly, and some interesting early finds started showing up, mostly from the 1600s. This was not a surprise as our research had indicated a number of small but very early settlements in this area. Dan posted his finds earlier, but I'm just now getting around to mine. Not a lot to post for now,but we feel this small site has the potential to produce some great early relics not to mention possible trash pits. Toward the end of the hunt we found what we thought initially might be a pit, but we now believe is part of a very early foundation. (Sorry - no field pics due to the weather.) We'll definitely do some more investigation of that feature next time there. My best finds were 3 early buckles. The partial one shown in the pics below was a mid-1600s spectacle buckle with molded rosettes on the outer edge of each loop. The other 2 are classified as sub-annular buckles, and at first glance I thought they might be late colonial. Dan thought they were earlier, and he was right. The one with the narrow tang still in place dates to 1650-1720. The other one is a little unusual in that it has a stud at the end of a wide, flat tang. These were used as shoe buckles beginning around 1660 until the early 1700s. Also found a few pipe stems and a partial bowl, and based on the stem diameters they date from the early 1600s to the early 1700s. Eyeballed a nice little point as well which was an easy find against a backdrop of dark soil. Not sure when we'll make it back to this site as we have other irons in the fire, but I'm definitely looking forward to it.

 

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[CASPER-2]

 

[birdman]

Fantastic Bill! I would swear that you are in Europe with the age of your finds. The buckles are fantastic.

 

[mangum]

Really neat buckles & nice point!

 

[TNGUNS]

Great finds. What was the small buckle in the picture by itself used for? Would assume the button end slipped into an eye on a leather strap. Which means I don't have a clue ha ha.

 

[joeyfresh]

Nice oldies there Bill. That must have been a common variation of that spectacle buckle. I found one last year and I recently helped a kid, also from VA, ID one on eBay recently.

 

[HomeGuardDan]

Great post Bill....if nothing else we pulled some nice buckles from that spot. I have high hopes for some good pits theren though.

always fun.

Dan

 

[Rick (Nova Scotia)]

That's a sweet pair of buckles.

 

[Zodiacdiverdave]

Great potential there Bill, those buckles a fantastic finds. I can't wait to see what else you and Dan pull out of there.
ZDD

 

[Greylock]

Those are some great buckles and the patina is real nice. That one is pretty cool and unique

 

[CRUSADER]

I think the oval one wins it, the other is more common over here (ie. the one you state has the stud).

 

[arrowhead82]

I love old buckles like that! looks like a great spot!
HH

 

[johnnyblaze]

Those are some early digs Bill

Its getting to the point at all sites where you gotta get technical now..They have all basically been Cherry-picked..

Only the strong shall survive

Blaze

 

[Bubba65]

Great Buckles indeed and the patina looks great too CONGRATS

 

[Jeff H]

Those are old examples for sure! Nice looking pieces

 

[Valley Ranger]

Nice finds! I always look forward to your posts Bill. But I have to ask, what is relicsnot? Sounds gross.

 

[artyfacts]

Nice finds. Great to see you posting. Looking forward to your posts... Art

 

[Bill D. (VA)]

Great finds. What was the small buckle in the picture by itself used for? Would assume the button end slipped into an eye on a leather strap. Which means I don't have a clue ha ha.

I mentioned in my post that they were used as shoe buckles.

 

[Bill D. (VA)]

Nice oldies there Bill. That must have been a common variation of that spectacle buckle. I found one last year and I recently helped a kid, also from VA, ID one on eBay recently.

Yes Joey - they are fairly common finds at early sites. I pulled out one of my buckle displays I put together a few years ago and found several that I had dug previously (see lower right hand area of the pic below).

 

[Steve in PA]

Nice buckles Bill. We just don't see them that old up here, even on the French & Indian War sites.