BROOCH

An incomplete Roman copper alloy Hod Hill brooch, missing the pin. It measures 36.75mm in length and weighs 2.41 grams.

The tinned wings have been over upwards to hold the axis bar a V shaped notch has been added to hold the pin which is missing. The bow is decorated with a horizontal groove just below the break, before is a central vertical rib flanked by two vertical grooves. The bow is decoated with four chevrons. Below is a further horizontal groove and a horizontal rib. The remainder of the bow which is triangular in plan tapering towards the foot is undecorated.

The foot has a broadly rectangular knop. The catchplate runs along broadly half the length of the bow, the curl to hold the pin is damaged.

In "Late Iron Age and Roman Brooches", Worrell (1998, p9) notes that Hod Hill brooches are closely related to Aucissa brooches from which they probably developed. They occur widely on the continent, particularly in Gaul and the Rhineland (ibid.). The main centre of production was probably Gaul, but some were probably made in Britain (ibid.). They are often associated with military sites and probably introduced to Britain by the Roman army, although they are also found on non-military sites (ibid.). Hod Hill brooches are known from post-conquest depositions and the type is better known on the continent. Bayley & Butcher (2004, p.153) suggest Hod Hill brooches went out of use c.70 AD.