BUTTON AND LOOP FASTENER

An incomplete cast copper alloy button and loop fastener of Wild's Class I from the late Iron Age or early Roman date (100 BC - 150 AD). The head of the button and loop fastener and part of the integral cast shank survive. The fastening loop is lost. The head of the faster is broadly sub-triangular in plan being formed from three conjoined circular bosses. The edges of the button head are beveled. It measures 24.2mm in length, 24.4mm wide and is 3.9mm thick. The integral cast shank (loop) is attached toward one end of the rear of the button (head) and offset at approximately 80° to the plain of the head and then turns at a 90° right angle so that the loop would project in the same plain as the button head. The shank is sub-rectangular in plan, and oval in cross section. It is broken before it expands to form the loop. The shank is 11.5mm long, 4.9mm wide and 4mm thick. The button and loop fastener weighs 10.26 grams. The front head of the button is decorated with a series of three cast circular bosses which are joined together by a sub-triangular plate. Each boss is similarly decorated with a cast design which consists of a raised central convex boss which is contained by an outer concentric raised ring. The ring and boss project the same distance and so when viewed in profile the bosses do not project. The decoration on the bosses is echoed on the sub-triangular plate which has an incised triangle formed from a series of curvi-linear lines which echo (and respect) the edges of the circular bosses. It is possible that the cast recesses around the central boss and the border on the triangular central plate may have an applied surface (possibly silver wire) which has heavily decayed. However this may also be a result of a chemical reaction in the soil which gives this impression. The reverse of the head is plain, flat and undecorated as are the remains of the loop. The projection of the shank is slightly strange as it is positioned at the rear of two of the conjoined bosses but rather than being aligned and projecting off of this edge it actually is aligned at an angle of 90° so that it projects over one of the circles. This means that the leading edge (widest part of the fastener) is formed from two circular bosses and the rear edge being formed from a single one (i.e. the fastener would be aligned thus (front) ► (back) rather than thus (front) ◄ (back)). The whole of the button and loop fastener is a dark brownish black colour with a heavy well formed polished patina. There are, however, a number of areas where this patina has been lost through abrasion. These are mostly located on the external edges of the fastener and are likely to be caused by abrasion in the buried environment. This abrasion is the most likely cause for the loss of the loop, the break of which is relatively old and a relatively modern patina has formed over the surface. Classifying this example has proved relatively difficult as it does not readily fit into the classification as laid out by J.P. Wild ‘Button and Loop Fasteners in The Roman Provinces’ (1970). The reason for this is that it is similar to those described by Wild as Class I ‘Fasteners with solid double-boss head and heavy ring loop’: Class 1 have been dated to the period 50 BC - 50 AD. Wild continues to state that the 'type is probably British, manufactured during the pre-Roman period and the early years of the Roman occupation. However this example is formed from three bosses unlike Class I and these are relatively flat in profile. Also the shank is relatively slight. These two elements would be better described as being attributes of Wild’s Class V. However, this also raised issues as not all elements correspond to this class either. Therefore, in this case it would be better not to attribute a direct Wild Class especially as Wild’s classification is now relatively old and needs updating and clarifying in the light of recent discoveries. Thus a larger date bracket of the later Iron Age to Early Roman period (1000BC – 150 AD) has been suggested here for this example. Two broadly similar Button and Loop Fasteners have been recorded with the PAS (see records: WMID-D2AFD6 and WMID-BF8D50).