BROOCH

Cast copper-alloy brooch of Colchester derivative, Polden Hill (Mackreth Type 1, flat wing ends type), Mackreth 2011, 1.d.d. Plate 44. Roman period. Probably Polden Hill type. Incomplete. Mass: 13.1g; length: 56.4mm; width: 31.3mm; depth: 13mm. Although one side-wing is bent, the brooch would have been T-shaped in plan, with a humped, comma shaped profile. There is the stub of a hook on the top of the head. There is a slightly raised area on each side of the head, adjoining the wings - possibly the remains of a "plate" moulding which is a feature usually found on Polden Hill broches. The wings are semi-cylindrical with incomplete end-caps. There are the remains of a pierced central cavity in one end cap (to hold the copper alloy axis bar, which is missing). The spring, pin and external chord are also missing. The bow has a sub-oval, almost D-shaped profile and it is bent at the bottom. There is the remains of the catchplate on the lower portion of the reverse of the bow. The brooch has a pitted green surface. Bayley and Butcher (ibid. p159) explain that the Polden Hill type of brooch, "exhibits a distinctive method of attaching the spring: it is carried in a semi-cylindrical crossbar which has closed ends to secure the axial rod, while the chord is held by a hook or crest on the head." In her "Roman Brooch Timeline", Worrell (2007) dates Polden Hill brooches to AD75-175. Bayley and Butcher (ibid. p 160) state that the main development of this type appears to have taken place in the West Midlands and that more recent finds have confirmed a concentration in this region.