BROOCH

A complete middle Iron Age La Tène 1 Ba type brooch dating to the period c.400 - 275 BC. The brooch survives intact consisting of a folded bow, sprung head and a separate hinged pin.

At the top of the bow is the head of the brooch. The head is made of three coils, two to the left of the pin and the the bow of the brooch, one to the right all circular in cross section. The first coil to the left of the pin and bow is a direct continuation of the bow. From this coil the spring wraps around to the left before curving over the top of the row of coils before folding back down to curve into the coil to the right of the bow and pin. The final coil ends in a clean break. This upwards curve produced by this design creates a semi-circular hoop at the top of the brooch. A copper alloy axis bar (2.7mm diameter) is threaded through the the coils of the spring.

The head of a separate pin is wrapped 340 degrees around the axis bar between the two coils to the left of the bow and the one to the right such that resting it looks like a fourth coil giving the brooch a pleasing symmetricality. The pin is circular in cross section and has a consistent diameter of 1.8mm for half its length after which point is gradually narrows to a point. At this point the pin is slightly bent sideways although it would have originally been straight.

From the head of the brooch the bow expands into a D-shaped cross section with a flat back and convex front. The bow immediately arches upwards, widening as it does and then downwards, at which point it narrows again giving the bow a D-shaped profile. The bow it as its widest at its curve's apex with a width of 5.33m.

After arching downwards the bow becomes flats and simultaneously tapers into the foot. At the bottom of the curve the foot expands on the right side to form the catchplate which rolls upwards to provide a rest for the pin. The foot then curves upwards and back on itself to face the bow. The brooch terminates in a horizontal double ridged collar followed by a large sub-circular knop, both D-shaped again with a flat back and convex outer surface.

Despite being mostly abraded smooth there are faint traces of decoration on the front of the bow. This comprises a linear grooves running down the centre of the bow for its entire length within which are faint diagonally incised lines.

The brooch measures 43.1mm in length, 10.2mm in width at the head, 11.0mm thick in profile and weighs 5.95 grams.

Similar brooches are illustrated by Hattatt (2000, 288, fig. 147, ) particularly no. 220 and 221. Bayley and Butcher (2004, 145-7) also illustrate a similar brooch, No. T1, and comments that variations of this brooch are found across Europe. The presence of rod through the spring indicates it is a 'Wessex' variant of Type 1Ba which dates to 400-275 BC (Sophie Adams unpublished training notes). A similar example on the database is SOM-21D1B2.