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Description: | A fragment of bronze/ copper alloy pin of ring-headed 'swan neck' type, dating to the Early Iron Age, c. 600 - 400BC. It consists of the ring-head and the top of the shaft (the 'swan neck' section) only. The fragment measures 32.00mm in incomplete length and weighs 5.80g. The fragment resembles an S in shape, with an oversized top loop returning to touch the near side of the bottom loop. The ring-head is slightly oval in shape and measures 23.45x20.56mm (internal 16.41x14.12mm). The pin is circular in section though the edges are rather squared-off around the circumference of the pin head. At the break, which looks relatively recent, the shank is 3.09x3.27mm in 'diameter'. This thickens slightly at the base of the head to 3.73x3.79mm. The pin then curves around in a circle, becoming max.4.17x3.07mm roughly in the centre, narrowing again towards the end which rests against the beginning of the head and measures 3.34x2.99mm. This end is flanked by decoration in the form of four transverse grooves. The patina is a smooth and shiny dark grey/ brown with some areas of pitting. There are concentrations of certain variants of these pins in East Anglia and Wessex. Their exact function is unknown, they are rarely found in graves and don't appear to be gender specific. The bulk of finds come from watery contexts or settlements. Ring-headed pins of this form without a solid ring commonly carry simple decoration with notches on the front of the ring (Dunning 1934, pp274). An old but pertinent reading reference is Dunning, G. (1934). 'The swan's neck and ring-headed pins of the early Iron Age in Britain,' The Archaeological Journal XCI, pp. 269-95. There is also an unpublished study by a German student (written in German) - Becker, K. (2000), 'Eisenzeitliche Ringkopfnadeln in Grossbitannien und Ireland', which provides an updated look at Dunning and questions his dating. Cf. BERK-4045E7 and NMGW-62BF56 which have similar decoration on the ring-head. Dot Boughton suggests a date between the 5th and 6th century BC.. | Publisher: | http://finds.org.uk | Source: | Portable Antiquities | Identifier: | http://finds.org.uk/database/artefacts/r... | Go to resource |
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