BROOCH

A near complete La Tene (III) bow brooch of late Iron Age - or very early Roman date (100 BC - 50 AD). The fragment consists of a small part of the turned spring, the bow and foot of the brooch. The upper part of the turned spring and pin are lost. The break on the spring is old and patinated it would have been turned several times and formed the pin. The bow is relatively plain being formed from simple sheet metal; it expands along its length to a rounded foot. The bow is C shaped in profile. The catchplate extends from a small rib on the lower part of the brooch and this has been heavily abraded. The bow of the brooch has been decorated with a cast design. This consists of a series of two recessed grove which extends from the upper bopw terminating above the bottom plate. It is possible that these grooves are further decorated but due to the level of preservation this cannot be accurately commented on. At the base of the bow is a single transverse bar from which the foot extends. The foot is not decorated. The brooch is a dark mid green brown colour with a much abraded patina. This abrasion is probably caused by movement in the plough soil and has resulted in damage around the extremities of the brooch. Similar brooches can be seen in Richard Hattatt's Visual Guide to Ancient brooches pp 290 fig; 149: A close comparison of the style can be seen in example 738 and 739. This brooch also shares some characteristics (mainly the lower plate / foot with) Bow brooches of the 1st century AD, specifically European 'eye type' brooches (fig 153) and British bow brooches - Aylesford and Birdlip (fig 154).

The brooch fragment measures 51.0mm length, 5.8mm width across the bow and is 1.7mm thick also across the bow, and weighs 2.81grams.