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Description: | The draft report for a Roman wheel necklace/bracelet clasp/pendant discovered by University of Leicester Archaeological Service (ULAS), written by Nick Cooper of ULAS, is as follows:"Wheel necklace/bracelet clasp/pendant (diameter of roundel 20mm)and the two leaded cu alloy heads which originally had been attached to a silver bowl, traces of which are still attached.The brief description of the wheel clasp from the receipt is as follows...Early Roman wheel-shaped clasp from a bracelet or necklace, together with chain link fragments. Appears to be pure silver (see conservation report by Graham Morgan). The clasp is closely paralleled by an example, also in silver, from the Snettisham Roman jeweller's hoard in the British Museum (C.Johns 1996, The Jewellery of Roman Britain, 93, fig.5.6 centre) where the quadrants are filled with torc or pelta-shaped wire motifs surmounted by silver beads (some of which, as in the Snettisham example, have been lost).The text of the conservation report by Graham Morgan for the wheel pendant is as follows....This was received in a muddy state. Some recent fractures showed a white crystalline silver colour. There was a little darkening of the silver and a yellowish hue to the central part. In view of the possibly fragile state, it was cleaned using a solution of water and industrial alcohol, which removed the mud easily. Small cracks and flakes became apparent and no further cleaning was attempted as there was no corrosion to remove. The object was consolidated with Incralac (dissolvable with acetone). The yellowish colour in the centre of the wheel appears to be from some form of silver solder, perhaps containing copper, used to fuse the wire elements together. There are scars where at least four silver beads have fallen off. The dendrites on the surfaces of the existing beads indicates that they were cast. The chain links all show extensive wear on the bends.Two leaded copper alloy heads were found from the same deposit; one of 'Celtic' or native British appearance and the other a Roman military heads bearing a plumed helmet (length of each head 20mm).The conservation report is as follows....The cast heads were quite corroded, with some massive corrosion and deep pits. They were mechanically cleaned, stabilised with benzotriazole and coated in Incralac (soluble in acetone). Cleaning revealed traces of thin silver sheet and silver solder on the reverse of both the heads. The curve on the reverse suggests that they were attached to a vessel of perhaps 80-100mm diameter. The only parallel reference for the heads I've come across is from Treasure Hunting magazine from Jan 1988 p.53 that one of my colleagues dug out! The find from Sussex represents a 'Celtic'-style native head and the recessed back plate and rivet base suggest it too was attached to a vessel".
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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