BROOCH

Roman copper alloy developed T-shaped brooch dating to the late first to early second century AD, complete apart from the pin and part of the catchplate. The head has two hollow cylindrical wings, 32.6mm wide, to hold the axis bar for the hinged pin. Both are complete but the one has a split on the underside. Both have three transverse incised lines across the front, near the end. In the open ends is a white substance, possibly cement to hold the axis bar. Between the wings on the under side of the head is a slot. The head of the pin would have hinged on the axis bar in the slot, the slot is filled with copper corrosion which may be the remains of the pin head or the bar. At the centre of the top edge of the head projects a flat round ended tab. It appears worn but complete with no evidence of piecing and three incised transverse lines across the front.

The bow has a C-shaped cross section at the top with a concave back and convex curved front becomeing oval towards the foot as the concave back fills out. It projects at 80 degrees from the head then immediately starts to curve over 110 degrees before running straight to the foot. The bow narrows gradually but consistantly to the rounded foot.There is moulded decoration on the front with a broad raised central strip running down from the tab and narrowing evenly along its length to finish about half way down the bow. This strip is decorated with deeply indented transverse lines alternating with plain sections. There is a pair of incised transverse lines just above the foot. The catch plate is mostly lost to worn breaks but appears to have a straoght upper edge.

The brooch is 46.7mm long including the tab, 40.7mm excluding it and 17.3mm thick, it weighs 15.48 g.

T-shaped brooches are very variable in the decoration on their bows but cast decoration is common. SOM-EF60C0 on this database appears very similar, although incomplete, as does Hull type T135 (Bayley and Butcher 2004:158). The latter however lacks the tab at the head seen on this example. This is a later feature usually seen in combination with enamelling and an out turned foot and often pierced to make a headloop. The presense of the head tab suggests this brooch belongs with the developed rather than initial T-shaped brooches. Bayley and Butcher (ibid4:167) suggest this type is mainly South Western in distribution and dates to the later first - early 2nd century AD (c75-150).