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Description: | Incomplete copper alloy two-piece Colchester derivative (Polden Hill style) brooch of Roman date (43-150AD). The wings are semi-cylindrical with perforated wing / end caps. The wing caps are complete and the axis bar and spring are present. The pin is missing. The spring is formed from a length of copper alloy wire which has been turned eleven times to form the spring and is attached by an external chord to a rearward facing hook. This hook is located at the centre of the wings on the upper edge. The axis bar is made of copper alloy. The bow head of the brooch is hump-like, and slightly angular. The bow is semi-circular (D-Shaped) in cross section. It tapers to a bulbous shaped foot. The catch plate on the reverse face of the bow is missing; it is likely that it expanded from a central rib located beneath the head of the brooch. This rib runs from the head of the brooch to the foot. The brooch measures 57.2mm length, 23.4m width, and is 17.9mm thick. It weighs 22.82 grams.
The brooch is decorated with a series of cast and applied decoration. The cast decoration consists of a triangular recessed panel on the head of the brooch. This panel expands from the triangular rear facing hook present. The cast decoration is also present at the junction between the body of the brooch and the wings. Here there is a large rib on either side of the body. This design echoes that present on the wing caps which are raised above the level of the cylindrical wings. The other part of the cast decoration is present on the foot. Here a single cast linear recess divides the bulbous knop into two parts. The other major area of decoration is on the bow / spine of the brooch. This decoration consists of two evenly spaced vertical lines each formed from a series of small inlaid enamel triangles. The enamel has been lost completely and none survives. However, the area where the panels originally were is well preserved and suggests that the original design took the for of two chains of interlinked triangles (which look similar to a row of teeth). It is also likely that there was a central rib of enamel along the spine of the brooch separating the other two lines - again none of this survives. The metal around these two areas has been coated either with a tin or silver wash which has decayed to a black colour. This area of decoration has been distorted by abrasion and corrosion.
The brooch is a mid brown green colour with an uneven abraded patina. This abrasion is probably caused by movement in the plough soil and has resulted in damage around the extremities of the brooch. There are also several small areas of light green copper corrosion present. Similar brooches can be seen in Richard Hattatt's Visual Guide to Ancient brooches pp 300 fig; 159: However, a parallel with similar applied decoration has not been found. | Format: | text/html | License: | http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/ | Publisher: | The Portable Antiquities Scheme | Rights holder: | The Portable Antiquities Scheme | Subjects: | archaeology | Temporal: | 43
150 | Source: | Portable Antiquities | Creator: | Peter Reavill | Identifier: | http://www.finds.org.uk/database/artefac... | Language: | en-GB | Format: | text/html | Go to resource |
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