BROOCH

Incomplete early Anglo-Saxon copper alloy brooch in the form of the side profile of a bird facing right.The bird has a small triangular pointed beak projecting from a small rounded head. Within the head there is a ring and dot motif representing the eye. The brooch is very worn, with the tail end and feet missing. Where the edges are not as worn an incised zig-zag line can be seen - this appears to be outlining the shape of the bird.

The reverse has a broken pin catch and a broken singular pin lug, both cast integrally with the brooch. There is iron corrosion present around the pin lug and on one side of the pin catch. The brooch measures 27.15mm in length and 20.25mm in width. It weighs 3.80g.

According to MacGregor (1993) bird brooches are not common in Anglo-Saxon England, and even on the continent a more predatory form of bird is generally represented. A brooch in the Ashmolean from Fairford in Gloucestershire is of a similar form and design to this brooch but the beaks of the birds are completely different - this one has a small pointed triangular beak in comparison to the large spatulate beak of the example from Fairford.

Other bird brooches recorded on the PAS which also use stamped and incised decoration are SUR-777B82 and BUC-0EC715. BUC-0EC715 also has the horizontal body of this example, as does IOW-1F2664 and BERK-9B6095. There are also two others from graves 3 and 40 at Chessell Down, Isle of Wight (Arnold 1980, 57).