|
Date: |
|
Description: | An incomplete Anglo-Saxon copper-alloy brooch. Only part of one end remains. The reverse of the fragment is very worn and it is difficult to tell if this is the headplate or foot of the brooch. On the reverse is an incomplete ridge of copper alloy that could plausibly be a worn catchplate or an incomplete pin lug. The bow is arched and faceted, and convex in cross-section. The headplate/foot has a small square plate with three long integral knobs extending from all sides. The lower knob is the longest and has a small globular knop at the terminal. Barry Ager (British Museum) comments: Although it appears to have suffered a bit from corrosion and the terminal is missing, from the long top knob and the way the fixed side ones spring directly from the central section of the head-plate rather than from wings, I think it would be safe to identify the find as a cruciform brooch of Reichstein's Bradwell-on-Sea type, particularly by comparison with the brooch from Blomsgården, Sweden (J. Reichstein, 1975, Die kreuzförmige Fibel, Offa-Bücher 34, cat.no. 416, Taf. 98, 6). The type is not very common, but occurs in both England, at Bradwell-on-Sea and Little Wilbraham, and in Sweden. It usually has a trapezoidal foot rather than the more usual 'horse' head, but I have seen a more recent example in a metal-detecting magazine from Cambridgeshire with such a head (Treasure Hunting, November issue, 2000, p. 63).Reichstein assigns the type to his 5th-century phase D3, although he lists it among "späte Fibeln". But in their more recent discussions of the chronology both Martin Welch and John Hines appear to agree that D3 can be attributed to c. 475-525, which agrees better with English phasing (M. Welch, 1987, "Reflections on the archaeological connections between Scandinavia and eastern England in the Migration Period", Studien zur Sachsenforschung, 6, 251-259). Also, as Reichstein labels his "späteste" phase D3/E1, it would appear that this brooch is typologically at an intermediate stage in the series. Hines suggests that the similarities between the English and Swedish brooches of the Bradwell-on-Sea type are a reflection of parallel development, but there are probably too few examples of the type to be certain on this point and the distinctive form of the head-plate may also perhaps represent a connection between workshops in the two regions.
Original Image | Publisher: | http://finds.org.uk | Source: | Portable Antiquities | Identifier: | http://finds.org.uk/database/artefacts/r... | Go to resource |
|
More Like this...
-
Brooch
This object is partly encased…
-
BROOCH
This object is partly encased…
-
BROOCH
This object is partly encased…
-
BROOCH
Head-plate from a copper-alloy brooch…
-
BROOCH
An incomplete copper alloy bow…
-
brooch
An incomplete copper-alloy early Anglo-Saxon…
-
BROOCH
An incomplete copper-alloy early Anglo-Saxon…
-
BROOCH
An incomplete copper-alloy early Anglo-Saxon…
-
BROOCH
Description: Incomplete Early-Medieval Frankish gilded…
-
Brooch
The head and bow (foot…
|