BROOCH

An incomplete enamelled copper alloy umbonate plate brooch, dating to AD 100 to AD 250.

Approximately 80% of the brooch is present, with only the pin missing.

The brooch is a hollow dome shape, with two projecting knops and two projecting lugs at the four compass points. The top consists of a domed boss, with two concentric circles of triangular enamelled cells, arranged around a central circular dipped cell. The outer circle has 14 cells and the inner has seven, both with alternating red and blue enamel which has cracked finely. At the edge of the outermost circle of cells there is a circular depression and a rim outside of that. The knops and lugs attach to the this rim. The back of the brooch is plain and undecorated. It is concave. The base of the catch plate are still present on one side of the brooch, and the hinge on the other. The hinge has a rivet through the middle which holds a fragment of the pin in place.

The brooch measures 22.81 mm in length, 32.45 mm wide and 7.46mm thick. It weighs 6.33 grams.

The brooch is a green colour, with an even surface patina.

Umbonate brooches of this type are frequently encountered finds. Hattatt (2000) dates one from Owmby, Lincolnshire (p. 350, fig 209, No. 128) to the 2nd Century. Other comparative examples recorded on the PAS database include BERK-356282 from Oxfordshire, SF-F7D194 from Suffolk, DENO-60F478 from Nottinghamshire, and HAMP-7EAF20 from Hampshire.

Reference:
Hattatt, R. (2000) A Visual Catalogue of Richard Hattatt's Ancient Brooches. Oxbow Books, Oxford.