BROOCH

An unusual cast copper alloy brooch, probably dating to the middle Iron Age (c. 6th to 3rd century BC) and likely a British late-Hallstatt derivative brooch (Hull & Hawkes Group L). The brooch has a bulbous hollow boss with two pairs of arms that protrude from the top and bottom of the central boss. The arms extend outwards in a wide V-shape. The terminals of all the arms have large, rounded but flattened knops. The lower pair of arms are slightly longer and wider and the upper pair, and there is a circular recess in the centre of the arms immediately below the central boss. The recess may have held a decorative insert (such as coral) or may have been left empty. A circular sectioned rod has been coiled around the upper pair of arms, beginning on the left-hand arm where it is wrapped tightly, crossing over the front of the brooch to the right hand arm where it is coiled twice. The remaining length of the rod has been passed under one of these coils and projects downward on the reverse of the brooch, terminating in a sharp point. This crude pin mechanism does not appear to be a repair as there is no evidence for an earlier pin or alternative mechanism. The remains of the catchplate is located between the lower pair of arms on the reverse.

This is a very unusual type of brooch and was probably locally made, or possibly a continental import. It probably dates to the third century BC. A similar example is illustrated in Hull & Hawkes (1987 plate 22 no. 7039), from Woodeaton in Oxfordshire; this brooch has been re-classified as Adams's Type 2Ld (Adams 2013, fig. 3.8, no. 10297). Another from Itchen Abbas in Hampshire has been recorded on this database (BERK-4BA073). These Group L brooches are rare and of varied design - but the characteristics shared between these three examples, suggest a relatively contemporary manufacture, probably during the 5th century BC (see Hull & Hawkes ibid. p64-66).