Rights Holder: St. Albans District Council
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Unique ID: BH-E749A5
Object type certainty: Certain
Workflow
status: Awaiting validation
A copper-alloy Nauheim-derivative brooch of Late Iron Age to Early Roman date.
The brooch is complete and has not been distorted from its original form. The head comprises five coils, central pin and internal chord. The inner coil of the spring flares into the bow, which is of flat section and bent into a 'U shape'. The horizontally-aligned upper portion of the bow is undecorated but its upper surface does display file marks from the finishing process; below this the brooch bends into a curved, roughly vertical return, its straight sides converging towards the bottom. At the top of this vertical portion, there is a band of poorly executed, oblique grooves; immediately below this, three transverse grooves define two rectangular panels, each of which is filled with an incised saltire. A right-angled return marks the start of the foot, which is of rectangular section, widening towards its distal end, where it has been turned back on itself, to form a catchplate.
Dimensions: 27.9mm long, up to 12.1mm wide (head), 24.8mm deep. Weight: 4.74g.
A similar brooch, HAMP1872, from Basingstoke, Hampshire, is recorded on the PAS database. According to Sally Worrell (pers. comm.), such brooches represent the true form of the Nauheim-derivative. They date from the 2nd half of the 1st century AD and are found mainly in Hampshire and Sussex.
Class: Nauheim-derivative
Subsequent action after recording: Returned to finder
Broad period: IRON AGE
Subperiod from: Late
Period from: IRON AGE
Subperiod to: Early
Period to: ROMAN
Date from: Circa AD 50
Date to: Circa AD 100
Quantity: 1
Length: 27.9 mm
Width: 12.1 mm
Weight: 4.74 g
Date(s) of discovery: Sunday 4th March 2012
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Other reference: Ver 12/60 - 1
Primary material: Copper alloy
Manufacture method: Cast
Completeness: Complete
Grid reference source: Generated from computer mapping software
Unmasked grid reference accurate to a 10 metre square.
No references cited so far.