Rights Holder: Sussex Archaeological Society
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PLAQUE
Unique ID: SUSS-1F5AB1
Object type certainty: Certain
Workflow
status: Published 
Small gold appliqué decorated with curvilinear filigree wire. The plaque comprises a thin piece of sheet gold forming an extended rectangle in two decorative 'halves', with each of the shortest sides cut to form a 'V' shape. There is a small circular perforation at each corner, as well as an additional perforation below one of the corner perforations; other holes appear to be wear and tear. The appliqué is decorated with fine applied filigree wire, which forms a continuous border around the whole outer edge (although it is broken and missing in a few places). The inner part of the design is divided into triangular cells by straight runs of wire, inside which are further wire spirals and twists to form curvilinear patterns. The back of the object is plain, presumably because it was not intended to be seen.
Notes:
The appliqué is clearly decorative, and the perforations are likely to have been made for small attachment rivets. It is unclear what object it would originally have been attached to, although a larger item of composite jewellery is a possibility, or perhaps a casket or box of some description.
Date: the item is probably of Roman date. Although no exact parallels have been found, the use of gold filigree wire and curvilinear designs are found on other Roman objects, for instance a gold bracelet from Rhayader, Powys (Johns 1996, 112-3). Metallurgical analysis also suggests the object is ancient in origin.
this item is made substantially of gold and is more than 300 years old, and thus qualifies as treasure as stipulated in the Treasure Act 1996.
Subsequent actions
Subsequent action after recording: Returned to landowner after being disclaimed as Treasure
Treasure details
Treasure case tracking number: 2008T549
Chronology
Broad period: ROMAN
Period to: ROMAN
Dimensions and weight
Quantity: 1
Length: 44.5 mm
Width: 12.8 mm
Weight: 3.1 g
Discovery dates
Date(s) of discovery: Monday 1st September 2008
Personal details
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Other reference numbers
Treasure case number: 2008T549
Materials and construction
Spatial metadata
Region: South East (European Region)County or Unitary authority: East Sussex (County)
District: Wealden (District)
To be known as: Alciston
References cited
| Author | Publication Year | Title | Publication Place | Publisher | Pages | Reference | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Johns, C. | 1996 | The Jewellery of Roman Britain: Celtic and Classical Traditions | UCL Press | 112-113 |
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