BROOCH

An incomplete large copper alloy plate brooch. A plate brooch in the form of rosette bow brooch. Part of a brooch of composite construction. A large plate with traces of white metal coating on the front face. The plate has a circular upper paert with a narrowed leg below. The large rounded end of the plate is slightly dished and has a central iron rivet. It is decorated with a faintly incised double-stranded circular framing band. The leg of the brooch extends outward from the rounded end and may have formerly flared out into a fantail, however this is now tapering to a gently rounded end. It is decorated with an angled longitudinal groove with flanking incised lines to the broken tip. At the rear of this section of the plate is a large hooked catchplate (also slightly angled off of the centre line) with a circular pierced hole. At the opposite end at the edge of the rounded part of the plate is a pair of pierced lugs which would have housed the axis bar for a hinged pin mechanism. There is a remnant of the axis bar remaining between the lugs.The rear of the rounded part of the plate is slightly convex and is covered in patchy iron corrosion product.
Date: Roman - c. AD 43 - 80
Dimensions: 67.71 mm x 37.08 mm x 7.22 mm
Weight: 8.26g

Similar to Nos. 348 & 349 in Bayley, J & Butcher, S 2004, Roman Brooches in Britain. p 122 - 123 & 154 - 155. In these examples the lower part of the plate is flared in to a fantail.