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Description: | A fragment from a copper alloy Roman plate brooch. A short portion of the flat circular, ring shaped brooch survives, the remainder of the ring as well as probable a probable central decorative panel now missing due to old breaks. The surviving fragment is flat and on the outer edges has two projecting semi-circular knops, one of which is slightly larger than the other. At one end of the upper surface is a circular disc of bone, which has suffered from copper oxidisation and turned a pale brown colour, set in a recessed circle and held in place by an iron rivet. The remains of similar ornamentation can be noted at the opposite end of the fragment in the form of a recessed circle and iron rivet, the decorative bone disc now missing due to old breaks. On the upper surface of the brooch between the two circles/discs is found stamped dotted decoration consisting of a V-shaped design with out-turned, scrolled tops (perhaps floral/foliate in design), above which are three dots arranged in a trefoil, and beneath which on either side are single stamped dots. The upper surfaces of the two projecting knops also have impressed dotted decoration in the form of a circle with central dot. These decorations are perhaps intended to represent stylised floral motifs. The whole upper surface of the brooch is coated with the remains of a shiny added white metal finish. The fragment measures 26.49mm in length, 11.15mm in width, 1.77mm in thickness, and weighs 1.92g.
Plate brooches such as this appear in Britain during the first century AD following the arrival of the Roman military. Originally, this example would have probably been circular or ring-shaped, possibly with a central decorative panel (perhaps with additional bone discs) suspended in the centre by short arms connected to the outer frame (see for example Bayley and Butcher, 2004: fig. 121, no. T266B). Riha describes this group of brooches as one that is relatively varied in form and style, but characteristically has punched decoration and added circular discs of either bone or in some cases jet (Riha, 1979: pp. 184). This style of brooch is found in northern Gaul, the Rhine and in Britain during the 1st to 2nd centuries AD, with good parallels noted in Riha's group 7.7 (Riha, 1979: pp. 184, nos. 1562-1568, especially nos. 1562 for form and 1563 for decoration (discs)). They are briefly mentioned by Bayley and Butcher (2004: pp. 155) who suggest they are of continental origin, of mainly late-1st century AD date, and the fore-runners to later Roman plate brooches. | Source: | Portable Antiquities | Creator: | Brown, Andrew | Identifier: | http://www.findsdatabase.org.uk/hms/pas_... | Language: | en-GB | Go to resource |
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