BROOCH

An incomplete cast copper alloy Roman Hod Hill, Brooch (c. AD 43 – c. AD 75). Overall length: 25.1mm; maximum width across the bow: 16.3mm and maximum thickness: 3.3mm. Weight: 2.25g. The lower half of the bow, the axis bar and the pin are missing. The top of the head is curled over in a forwards direction to form a tube (the wings) that held the axis bar. However, half of this curled over element is missing due to an old break. There is no iron staining on the upper part of the brooch to suggest that the axis bar or the pin was made of iron. Mid-way along the tube is a rectangular slot that accommodated the hinged pin. The tube has an overall width of 16.3mm. Beneath the tube, the slightly forwards projecting head is flat and the sides, in plan, are concave. The upper part of the flat (not arched) bow is sub-rectangular in plan. It has a width of 11.9mm and includes the small projection at each side which appear to be the remains of side knobs. One of these projections has an old abraded break and the other has a more recent break. The bow tapers slightly in width from the top towards an old transverse break where the width is 8.6mm. The front of the bow is characteristically vertically fluted and ribbed. The central median rib is very prominent and has a sharp leading edge which has been knurled but due to wear the knurling is barely visible. A lesser rib at each side of the central rib is distinctly knurled throughout its length. The rear face of the brooch is plain. The brooch has a dark green patina and there are traces of tinning on the front. The front of the flat head has horizontal file marks and the rear face also has horizontal file marks although these marks are considerably worn. Richard Hattatt has made the following comments on Hod Hill brooches: ‘While one cannot say that Hod Hill brooches are true derivatives of the Aucissa, they most certainly have strong affinities with them. Their life spans were almost concurrent, both here and in Europe, and like Aucissas, the Hod Hill originated on the continent and were brought here by the invading Roman forces, few, if any, filtered in before them… The Hod Hill type appears to have originated just a little later than Aucissas, probably about AD 20… The most striking characteristics of the Hod Hill range is in the proliferation of side knobs to the upper bow. The word “range” is used because these brooches were made in such enormous variety, unlike many other types, hardly any two being identical. In nearly all cases the curvature of the upper bow is much less than on Aucissas, and is confined to only about half the brooch length. The lower part, the “leg”, is nearly always straight. Hod Hills are always hinged, and the flat brooch head with its curled over top holding an iron axis bar with knobbed ends very closely follows the Aucissa, as does the foot with its knob. Hod Hill bows are thus formed of two distinct sections, the curved upper part and the straight leg, the junction delineated by one or more prominent cross ribs. Very frequently indeed Hod Hills are tinned to give a silvery appearance, and less frequently are actually silver plated. The upper bow is generally wide, either rectangular or tapering a little upwards or downwards, and the leg is much narrower. It is the upper panel which sprouts the side knobs and they can be anywhere there from top to bottom, sometimes centrally placed… The central panel of the upper bow is seldom left plain. Most commonly it is ribbed or fluted vertically, sometimes laterally, and can be decorated further with niello inlay to give contrast with a tinned face. The straight leg is sometimes left plain except for the foot knob, but more often is furnished with a few cross-ribs, sometimes with a number down it length. The catch-plates also follow the triangular Aucissa tradition with occasional circular perforations’ (Hattatt, R. 1982. “Ancient and Romano-British Brooches”. 88. Dorset: Dorset Publishing Company).