Rights Holder: Birmingham Museums Trust
CC License:
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Unique ID: WAW-254910
Object type certainty: Certain
Workflow
status: Awaiting validation
A probable cast copper-alloy headstud brooch. The wings are semi-cylindrical, but may have originally been tubular and has since been damaged. The interior of the wings reveal a seven coiled spring around an axis bar. The pin is missing. The chord above the spring is held in place by a central hook on the reverse of the upper edge of the wings. The wings are decorated on the outer face with vertical ribbing which continues down the side of the bow head. Integral to the upper edge of the wings is the remains of a lug which was probably originally the loop. The bow head is sub-rectangular in section and protrudes from the centre of the wings, it curves downwards at a sharp angle and tapers to form the bow. It is here the bow is broken, the break is not recent. The brooch has a well developed, incomplete, shiny mid grey/green patina. It measures 20.86mm long, 18.79mm wide across the spring and weighs 6.7g.
In her "Roman Brooch Timeline" (2007), Worrell dates headstud brooches to AD75-AD200. A similar example is illustrated in Hattat (Hattat, R 1982 Ancient and Romano-British Brooches Oxbow) No. 33. Bayley and Butcher (Bayley and Butcher, 2004 Roman Brooches in Britain: A technological and Typological Study Based on the Richborough Collection Society of Antiquaries p. 165) comments that the headstud brooches with an integral upper loop and hinged pin are found throughout Britain and being manufactured in a number of workshops.
Class: Headstud
Subsequent action after recording: Returned to finder
Broad period: ROMAN
Period from: ROMAN
Period to: ROMAN
Date from: Circa AD 75
Date to: Circa AD 200
Quantity: 1
Length: 20.86 mm
Width: 18.79 mm
Weight: 6.7 g
Date(s) of discovery: Sunday 1st January 2012 - Friday 1st June 2012
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Primary material: Copper alloy
Manufacture method: Cast
Completeness: Fragment
4 Figure: SO9165
Four figure Latitude: 52.283066
Four figure longitude: -2.13335
1:25K map: SO9165
1:10K map: SO96NW
Grid reference source: From finder
Unmasked grid reference accurate to a 100 metre square.
Author | Publication Year | Title | Publication Place | Publisher | Pages | Reference | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Bayley, J. and Butcher, S. | 2004 | Roman Brooches in Britain: A Technological and Typological Study Based on the Richborough Collection | London | The Society of Antiquaries | p. 165 | ||
Hattatt, R. | 1982 | Ancient and Romano-British brooches | Sherborne | Dorset Publishing | No. 33 |