MOUNT

A mostly complete copper alloy gilded spoked mount of Roman date (c.AD 200-300).

The mount is circular in plan and conical in profile and is divided into three elaborate sections by two raised concentric rings. In the centre is a raised conical knop from which protrude five curved spokes with D-shaped profiles, each positioned at equal distance. The spokes protrude to the edge of the inner ring. The surface between the spokes appears to have been decorated which is now indeterminable. The middle ring has a repeating incised hatched design of continuous Xs. The outer ring has the same hatched design but presented in two rows. The outer edge of the mount has a raised lip which is consistent with the concentric rings within the inner sections of the object. Some areas of the rim are chipped, revealing a bright green patina. The whole surface of the object is largely gilded with the protruding sections missing large patches of gilding.
The reverse is flat and undecorated. Three small holes are present, one in the centre and one either side, which likely indicate the positions for former attachments.

Dimensions: Diameter 40mm; weight 25g

The overall decorative form of the mount is consistent with Roman spoked disc brooches as illustrated by Mackreth (2011:110 Pl.107; Hattatt (1987: 254-5 Fig.79 nos. 1215-1216) and Snape (1993: 83 Fig.223) which are dated to the 3rd-4th centuries AD. Similar examples on the PAS database include WILT-E7C854; LANCUM-254F64 and HAMP-C8C730. The present example is unlikely to have function as a brooch as indicated by the reverse details and its lack of apparent brooch fixings. The presence of three holes may instead suggest this example was used as a mount. The present example is also much larger than the brooches which typically measure at half to a third smaller. The decoration is also more elaborate with three areas of divided decoration instead of two. It is currently unclear if there are any known directly comparable objects.