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BROOCH
Unique ID: BH-72DB25
Object type certainty: Certain
Workflow
status: Awaiting validation 
A copper-alloy open-frame brooch, dating from the late medieval period.
The brooch comprises a flat-sectioned ring with damaged constriction for the now-missing pin. The upper surface bears a stamped and incised legend which is poorly executed in Black Letter. A cross pattée, located to the right of the pin constriction, marks the start of the legend, which reads 'ihc nAzA- ren rex' ('Jesus of Nazareth'), with the 's' retrograde and the 'a' unusually large. The final character after the retrograde 's' is probably merely decorative (star?) -- or if it can be construed as a letter then obviously an abbreviation (Malcolm Jones pers. comm.). At the top, traces of two perimeter groove borders flank this legend, but these grooves gradually dissipate and are not visible below halfway.
Width: 36.6 mm; height: 35.5 mm; thickness: 2.4 mm. Weight: 10.22 g.
Other open-frame brooches with similar inscriptions include PAS records CAM-A2CDB7 and SF-47CB61. The combination of this legend and the use of Black Letter together give a likely date range of 14th to 15th century.
Notes:
Further clarification on the legend provided by Rob Webley who also notes that there is an example found in Old Bilton, Harrogate, with a comparable legend and stops (YAJ 37, p. 127), and another, incomplete example from Kirk Ella, near Harrogate (Trans. East Riding Antiq. Soc. XX (1914), p. 46 - legend misinterpreted therein).
Class:
annular
Inscription:
ihc nAzA-ren rex
Subsequent actions
Subsequent action after recording: Returned to finder
Chronology
Broad period: MEDIEVAL
Subperiod from: Late
Period from: MEDIEVAL
Period to: MEDIEVAL
Date from: Circa AD 1300
Date to: Circa AD 1500
Dimensions and weight
Quantity: 1
Height: 35.5 mm
Width: 36.6 mm
Thickness: 2.4 mm
Weight: 10.22 g
Discovery dates
Date(s) of discovery: Sunday 1st November 2015
Personal details
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Other reference numbers
Other reference: Ver 15/188 - 1
Materials and construction
Spatial metadata
Region: Eastern (European Region)County or Unitary authority: Central Bedfordshire (Unitary Authority)
District: Central Bedfordshire (Unitary Authority)
Parish or ward: Old Warden (Civil Parish)
Spatial coordinates
4 Figure: TL1143
Four figure Latitude: 52.07424885
Four figure longitude: -0.38184325
1:25K map: TL1143
1:10K map: TL14SW
Grid reference source: Generated from computer mapping software
Unmasked grid reference accurate to a 10 metre square.
References cited
| Author | Publication Year | Title | Publication Place | Publisher | Pages | Reference | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Egan, G. and Pritchard, F. | 1991 | Dress Accessories, c.1150-c.1450 (Medieval Finds from Excavations in London 3) (1991) | London | Stationery Office Books | |||
| Saunders, P. | 2012 | Salisbury and South Wiltshire Museum Medieval Catalogue Part 4 | Salisbury | Salisbury and South Wiltshire Museum |
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Timeline of associated dates
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