The zoomorphic mount is designed in the form of two style II eagles, facing each other and holding a fish vertically between them.
The Staffordshire Hoard plaque was quite badly damaged when it was removed. One bird was dramatically twisted away, but you can still see traces of its talons on the body of the fish.
The exact use for the zoomorphic mount is not yet known, however it is likely that it was used as decoration on a shield.
This gold plaque shows two eagles holding a fish between them. There was a plaque with one very similar eagle on the front of the shield found in the Sutton Hoo ship burial, which is thought to be where King Raedwald of East Anglia was buried.
Read more