An incomplete middle Anglo-Saxon or Roman copper-alloy polyhedral-headed pin (AD 250-410). Cool Group 15 - faceted head.
This pin has a cuboid head with the corners cut off and has a small portion of shaft. The head has fourteen facets including the top face and the underside from which the shaft projects. Each facet is lozenge-shaped and has been punched (possibly) to form a ring-and-dot motif. Beneath the head the shaft is circular in cross-section. It tapers from the head towards an abraded break.
This pin is light brown and the surfaces are coarse. The break on the shaft is old. Overall height: 14.63mm; width of head: 7.57mm; thickness of head: 6.81mm; height of head: 10.42m; diameter of shaft at the top: 3.13mm. Weight: 2.75g.
Polyhedral pins are dated to both the Roman and Early-Medieval periods but the absence of a collar beneath the head on this example suggests that it is probably Roman. Similar pins are illustrated in Crummy, 1981, The Roman Small Finds from Excavations in Colchester 1971-9, page 29. These are dated to AD 250 or later. The head is of Cool's Group 15 type (Cool, 1990, 164-165, fig. 9).
Reference: Cool, H. 1990. Roman Metal Hair Pins from Southern Britain. Archaeological Journal. 147. 148-182.
Dr Kevin Leahy writes: while the above discussion is correct it should be pointed out that pins head of this form are unbiquitous on Middle Anglo-Saxon sites and this dating is at least as likely as Roman.
An incomplete middle Anglo-Saxon or Roman copper-alloy polyhedral-headed pin (AD 250-410). Cool Group 15 - faceted head.
This pin has a cuboid head with the corners cut off and has a small portion of shaft. The head has fourteen facets including the top face and the underside from which the shaft projects. Each facet is lozenge-shaped and has been punched (possibly) to form a ring-and-dot motif. Beneath the head the shaft is circular in cross-section. It tapers from the head towards an abraded break.
This pin is light brown and the surfaces are coarse. The break on the shaft is old. Overall height: 14.63mm; width of head: 7.57mm; thickness of head: 6.81mm; height of head: 10.42m; diameter of shaft at the top: 3.13mm. Weight: 2.75g.
Polyhedral pins are dated to both the Roman and Early-Medieval periods but the absence of a collar beneath the head on this example suggests that it is probably Roman. Similar pins are illustrated in Crummy, 1981, The Roman Small Finds from Excavations in Colchester 1971-9, page 29. These are dated to AD 250 or later. The head is of Cool's Group 15 type (Cool, 1990, 164-165, fig. 9).
Reference: Cool, H. 1990. Roman Metal Hair Pins from Southern Britain. Archaeological Journal. 147. 148-182.
Dr Kevin Leahy writes: while the above discussion is correct it should be pointed out that pins head of this form are unbiquitous on Middle Anglo-Saxon sites and this dating is at least as likely as Roman.
A RDF representation of IOW-0FBB02
2013-06-06T22:14:24+01:00
2015-03-30T15:46:52+01:00
IOW-0FBB02
IOW-0FBB02
GB
en-GB
The Trustees of the British Museum
The Trustees of the British Museum
1
http://purl.org/NET/Claros/vocab#Thumbnail
Attribute as courtesy of the British Museum
A thumbnail image of IOW-0FBB02
Finder
Copper alloy
Primary material of object
Incomplete
7.57
Width
6.81
Thickness
0.
Height
2.75
Weight
By Attribution 3.0
The period from for the object
Attribute as courtesy of the British Museum
A full resolution image of IOW-0FBB02
0250
0920
Classification of object
Ascribed culture