Rights Holder: Somerset County Council
CC License:
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Unique ID: DEV-F89DC8
Object type certainty: Certain
Workflow
status: Awaiting validation
An incomplete, highly abraded, copper alloy hinged Roman trumpet derivative, Developed T-shaped brooch, probably a dating to c. AD 75 - 150. Only the head, upper bow and wing casing survive, with the lower bow, pin and catchplate all missing.
At the head of the brooch the wings survive to a width of 17.0mm, these are cylindrical and are entirely hidden when viewed from the front by a sub-triangular head-plate. The wings are 5.1mm thick and although incomplete, neither exhibits evidence of decoration, a sub-rectangular slot has been cut into the reverse of the wings, to accomodate a pin, now lost.
The headplate is 13.1mm high and 17.0mm wide, with a concave reverse. Just below the apex of the triangular headplate is a circular depression, a cell for a pellet of red enamel, which is now lost (see below). The headplate tapers into the bow which expands outwards, reaching a minimum thickness of 4.4mm wide by 4.2mm thick, before expanding again to reach 6.5mm wide by 5.7mm thick, in line with a break in angle of the bow. The bow is initially oval in cross section, but transitions into a D-shaped cross section in line with this break in angle. Below this the bow is cast into a transvrse oval boss, still D-shaped in cross section, 7.4mm wide by 6.6mm thick, which is flanked above and below by a row of four sub-oval depressions. Below this boss the bow tapers to a worn break.
Images provided by the finder closer to the date of discovery suggest that when found a red enamel inlay, as well as a copper alloy axis bar and at least partial pin all survived in situ.
Overall dimensions: length 41.9mm; width 17.0mm; maximum thickness 13.1mm; weight 9.61g.
Other brooches combining the general form of trumpet brooches with the hinged pin mechanisms of the T-shaped brooches can be seen recorded on this database, cf. SOM-BB1CF7, although with much more elaborate decoration. This latter example can probably be dated to the first half of the second century based on the highly standardised style of the decoration and was likely produced in the South West (see the discussions on Trumpet and Developed T-shaped Brooches in Bayley & Butcher 2004: 163-167). This brooch will probably be of similar date, although due to the lack of exact parallels a slightly broader date range is suggested.
Class: Trumpet derivative developed T-shaped brooch
Subsequent action after recording: Returned to finder
Broad period: ROMAN
Period from: ROMAN
Period to: ROMAN
Date from: Circa AD 75
Date to: Circa AD 150
Quantity: 1
Length: 41.9 mm
Width: 17 mm
Thickness: 13.1 mm
Weight: 9.61 g
Date(s) of discovery: Monday 5th June 2017 - Sunday 11th June 2017
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Other reference: SCC receipt: 017396
Grid reference source: GPS (from the finder)
Unmasked grid reference accurate to a 1 metre square.
Author | Publication Year | Title | Publication Place | Publisher | Pages | Reference | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Bayley, J. and Butcher, S. | 2004 | Roman Brooches in Britain: A Technological and Typological Study Based on the Richborough Collection | London | The Society of Antiquaries |