BROOCH

A complete Iron Age La Tène III type brooch dating to the period c.25 BC- AD 100. The brooch survives intact consisting of a folded bow, sprung head with underhead chord and integral pin.

At the top of the bow is the head of the brooch. The head is made of four coils, two to the left of the pin and the the bow of the brooch, two 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 forming the next spring before curving undeneath the bottom of the row of coils and behind the plate before folding back up to curve into the coil on the right end of of the head and then the final coil to the right of the bow. This final coil then straightens out into a pin (diamater c.2.5mm) which gradually narrows to a thin point.

From the head of the brooch the bow expands horizontally into a flat, rectangular cross sectioned plate that is 1.4mm thick and 7.1mm wide. This continues to widen to a maximum width of 10.6mm, c.23.0mm down from the head of the brooch. Below the plate's sides becomes concave narrowing to a thin foot pointed foot 18.9mm long and 0.8mm wide. A flat catchplate projects from the back of the foot. This is trapezoidal with an upper edge that curves to meet the back of the bow. Its outer edge is folded over to the right 180 degrees to provide a thin rest for the pin to sit in.

The front of the bow plate is decorated incised lines. Two particularly thick incised lines run parallel down most of the length of the bow. Between these is a thinner incised design made of a series of convex lines each connected to the one above by a straight line such that is one continuous repeating design in the rocker-arm or wrigglework style. The final decoration is of three transverse incised lines placed across the front of the plate just below the point of its maximum width. The reverse is plain and undecorated.

The brooch is a dark green colour.

The brooch measures 53.4mm in length, 10.6mm in width, 7.3mm thick at the head and weighs 5.37 grams.

Similar brooches are illustrated by Hattat (2000, 290, fig. 149, ) particularly no. 739 which are termed as La Tène III brooches. This form of brooch dates between c. 25 - 100 AD and a similar example on the database is BERK-3FB622. Mackreth also illustrates similar examples (Mackreth 2011, Plates 7-8, particularly Nos. 4079, 4014, 40613871. He terms these Nauheim Derivative types which he suggests date to the first centuries BC and AD (Mackreth 2011, 13-14). Sophie Adams has classified these as Nauheim Derivative dating to 10-100 AD. She suggests those with stamped decoration are particularly associated with the Antrebatic area.