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Description: | A complete cast copper alloy skeuomorphic plate brooch, of Roman dating (2nd to 3rd Centuries AD). The plate brooch has been cast in the form of a swastika (a cross where the arms are bent in an L-shape, with the base of the legs orientated anti-clockwise). Each of the four arms has been decorated by a series of incised squares positioned at the end. A small circular impression has been positioned at the centre of the cross, possibly where a small gem or other form of decoration was attached.The back of the plate is plain and undecorated. The pin rest and part of the hinge fitting appear to be integrally cast with the plate. However there seems to be traces of solder around the base of the hinge, suggesting either repair work or that the hinge needed re-enforcement. The pin has a circular section shank, gradually tapering to a point. It is mostly intact, with the tip missing. The pin is attached to the front of the brooch by a hinge fitting. The head of the pin has been flattened and placed between the two sides of the hinge fitting. All three elements are fastened together with a copper alloy pin.The brooch is a mid to dark green colour, with an even surface patina covering the majority of the surface. The patina has flaked off a couple of areas, revealing a reddish brown colour to that area. It is 39.67mm long, 27.89mm wide and 16.33mm thick. It weighs 12.5 grams.Skeuomorphic plate brooches are one of the rarer types of Roman brooches encountered in Britain, with the swastika type being one of the less frequently encountered examples. 6 have been recorded to date on the PAS database, including another example from Cheshire (LVPL-F52FB5).According to Hattatt (1987, p222) this type is an uncommon type but very widespread across the Roman world from Britain to Syria, and generally dated to the second half of the second century into the 3rd Century AD. The swastika (crux gammatica - a cross formed of four Greek capital gamma characters) was widely used long before the Christian period, possibly in pagan religious contexts, its continued use into the early part of that period was as a veiled symbol of the cross. These types are either encountered as a plain swastika placed in line with the pin or as a encircled swastika placed at an angle to the pin. The former tend to have sprung pins with the chord internal, and the later have the chord external held in a notch.Our example would appear to be of the initial type, that of a plain swastika, placed in line with the pin. However this example does not have a sprung pin, it is hinged instead, which does make this an unusual example. It is still considered to be of Roman date.Reference:Hattatt, R. 1987. Brooches of Antiquity. Oxbow Books. Oxford.
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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