Winged chape

The Little Thetford winged chape was found by David Fletcher within an acre of the site of Harrimere Chapel. According to Mike Young, it is a rare artifact. A chape is a metal plate or mounting of a scabbard or sheath. A winged chape is indicative of later European Bronze-Age cavalry warfare. The location of this find around the Harrimere area suggests it may have been part of a ritual or sacrifice.

A search of the British Museum reveals no winged chapes. We did find two chapes described, an Iron-Age Front-plate and chape from a dagger sheath and a Roman Sword and scabbard end (chape). A search of the Heritage Gateway for chape reveals many entries whilst a search for winged chape reveals none.

Updated 1 June 2011: Image added

John McCullough