The belt buckles

Byzantine-made buckle. Photo by Nicola Monari, 2009, from Catalogo BBCC RAS

The bronze belt buckles found in Sardinia cover the chronological period from the middle of the 6th to the 7th century. For the most part, they fall into the Corinth type and the Balgota type, characterized by the shape of the plate, respectively triangular or heart-shaped, perforated. These artifacts are widespread throughout most of the Mediterranean and produced in a few large workshops, one of which is probably in Rome.
The golden buckle of Sardinian origin, now in Cologne, decorated with the figure of a griffin, can be traced back to the Syracuse type, also called “shield” because it is characterized by a round, unperforated plate. Even the Syracuse type came out of probably Roman workshops but in a slightly later period (its production began at the end of the 6th century) and is widespread both in the Mediterranean and in Europe up to southern England.
Several other buckles found in Sardinia are part of the Hippona type, characterized by an unperforated and rounded plate, with figures engraved by means of a peculiar technique that recalls glittery. Similar examples have been reported in various archaeological and museum settings, including in Rome during the excavation of the Crypta Balbi.
Like the others, the Hippo type is widespread throughout the entire Mediterranean, especially in the western Mediterranean and only sporadically in the transalpine area. Very homogeneous, it could have been produced in a single workshop, in the case of Crypta Balbi in Rome, in the last two-thirds of the 7th century.
Between the 7th and 8th centuries, on the other hand, there were “U” type buckles, widespread in most of the Mediterranean. They are characterized by a “U” plate, more or less long, generally not perforated and decorated with a wide repertoire of geometric, phyto-zoo-anthropomorphic patterns both individual and combined in elaborate depictions, mostly hunting scenes.

Update

27/5/2026 - 14:59