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Description: | A complete cast copper-alloy harness pendant likely to be part of the military parade uniform of the Roman cavalry in the later 1st century AD. Finds of such individual pendants are quite commonly found on sites where Roman soldiers were based or visited and are presumably stray losses. This pendant was presumably one of several similar examples each originally suspended from a phalerae, a type of strap junction. This pendant measures 44.9mm in length and 37.9mm in width, it is c3mm in thickness. It has a projecting suspension shaft, which has a circular hole drilled through its terminal, the suspension loop is set at right angles to the plane of the pendant. The pendant is symmetrical and roughly heart-shaped, although the lower half of the pendant has three terminals. Each half of the heart tapers into a terminal which curves up and out, the end of which touches the outer edge of the pendant, there is an open work hole where the terminals curve up. Each of these outer terminals is moulded, probably to represent an oak leaf with a scroll-like tip and has an acorn hanging from its centre. The centre of the pendant has two parallel roughly oval-shaped holes and below these another hanging acorn-shaped moulded projection, which hangs between the outer hanging acorns. Only the front face has moulding, the back face is flat and undecorated. The front face of the two halves of the heart are delimited by raised mouldings. It is further decorated with incised opposing vine tendrils, leaves and bunches of grapes. These were probably originally inlaid with niello, which does not survive. The whole front face and sides of the pendant also retain traces of a silver foil which would have originally covered it. Very similar pendants of the same shape and decorative design is known from Doorwerth, and Wroxeter. The decoration of all of these examples therefore employs imagery derived from the oak tree, having oak leaves and acorns moulded on low relief, mixed with Bacchic designs, that is vine tendrils, leaves and bunches of grapes, presumably related to Bacchus' association with horses. (Bishop and Coulston, 1993, 105-106, fig 65, no 4 and 8).
Original Image | Publisher: | http://finds.org.uk | Source: | Portable Antiquities | Identifier: | http://finds.org.uk/database/artefacts/r... | Go to resource |
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