PIN

An incomplete worked bone hair pin, of mid Roman dating (c. 150 to 250 AD).

Approximately 75% of the pin is present, consisting of the head of the pin and part of the shaft. The head of the pin is more or less spherical in shape, similar in style to those classified as Type 3 by Crummy (1983, p21). A degree of swelling is present towards the top of the shaft, a feature common on some types of hair pins. Due to the degree of working, it is hard to identify what type of animal the bone has originally come from, but probably it was fashioned from a metapodial (lower leg) of a cow or sheep sized animal.

The pin measures 68.19mm in length, head diameter is 4.99mm and maximum shaft diameter is 3.98 mm. It weighs 1.3 grams.

Bone pins, like those made from copper alloy, jet or glass, are commonly thought to have functioned predominately as hair pins during the Roman period, with some female hairstyles requiring multiple pins to hold the hair in place. Other uses for bone pins have included clothing fasteners. Type 3 hair pin were among the most common type recovered from the excavations at Colchester (Crummy, 1983, 22) and range in date from 150 AD to late 4th Century AD.

Reference:
Crummy, N. 1983. The Roman Small Finds from excavations in Colchester 1971-9. Colchester Archaeological Report 2. Colchester Archaeological Trust. Colchester.