Rights Holder: St. Albans District Council
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Unique ID: BH-4D0AB3
Object type certainty: Certain
Workflow
status: Awaiting validation
A copper-alloy penannular brooch of Roman date.
The frame is sub-oval in plan, the end with the terminals being almost straight. It is of circular section, gradually widening at the two opposing terminals, each of which is deeply grooved, creating three joined discs, the inner two of which have toothed edges. The pin has been made from a flattened length of copper-alloy wire, loosely looped around the frame and tapering to a point. The brooch survives in good condition, with no discernible wear or corrosion.
Dimensions: 28.1mm wide, 27.3mm high, 6.5mm thick at the terminals. Weight: 5.84g.
Anna Booth (pers. comm.) has identified this as a Fowler Type A4 brooch (after Fowler 1960). According to Booth, most brooches of this class are probably 1st or 2nd century in date, although they do continue into the 3rd and 4th centuries. Their distribution appears to be weighted towards the south-west, brooches with similar 3-disc terminals having been found in an antiquarian collection from Cirencester, Gloucestershire; Goledges Field, Caerleon, Monmouthshire; Corsham, Wiltshire; and Wroxeter, Shropshire (all unpublished).
Class: Penannular
Subsequent action after recording: Returned to finder
Broad period: ROMAN
Subperiod from: Early
Period from: ROMAN
Date from: Circa AD 1
Date to: Circa AD 200
Quantity: 1
Height: 27.3 mm
Width: 28.1 mm
Thickness: 6.5 mm
Weight: 5.84 g
Date(s) of discovery: Sunday 1st April 2012
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Other reference: Ver 12/72 - 11
Primary material: Copper alloy
Manufacture method: Cast
Completeness: Complete
Grid reference source: From finder
Unmasked grid reference accurate to a 100 metre square.
Author | Publication Year | Title | Publication Place | Publisher | Pages | Reference | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Fowler, E. | 1960 | The origins and development of the penannular brooch in Europe | London | The Prehistoric Society |