BROOCH

Copper-alloy head fragment from an early medieval Cruciform brooch, c. 450 - 650 AD. The fragment consists of the lower part of the head and a small portion of the bow, which curves out and down from the rectangular-shaped head. Two horizontal ridges demarcate the juncture between bow and head, running across the bottom of the head. At one side of the head there is a D-shaped lobe; the ragged edges of this reflect a high level of corrosion and wear and it is evident that a large section has broken off. There would have presumably been parallel lobes extending from the other two sides of the brooch head which have been sadly lost. There is a small step along the line where the remaining lobe extends from the rectangular head; this line is further emphasized by a row of small circular punch marks along the edge of the head. At the back of the head is what is left of a small sub-triangular catchplate, protruding from the back at a right angle to the head and widening towards the top of the head. The section of bow that remains is sub-triangular in section as the bow is very thick in the middle and thin along the edges. Two shallow ridges are just visible, running centrally down the centre of the bow. The patina of the fragment is, however, highly corroded; this has resulted in a patchy green-brown patina. There is a scratch running across the centre of the front surface of the head which has revealed the original shiny brown patina of the brooch; this damage probably occurred during discovery of the object. The dimensions of the fragment are: 24.90mm in length, 27.74mm in width and 5.00mm in maximum thickness. The weight of the fragment is 10.45g.