BROOCH 874931

Description: An incomplete Roman Crossbow brooch, dating to the period c. AD 290-400. It is incomplete insofar as only approximately half of the upper body and the lower body extending to (but not including) the foot survives. All that remains measures 55.19mm in length, 26.36mm in width, 6.52mm thick for the upper body and 7.92mm for the lower body, tapering to a point after 37.13mm. There is a distinctive split in this tubular lower body, in which the now missing pin would have been contained. At the very bottom of the brooch, there is one ring-and-dot, broadly central, indicating perhaps that there was one, central line of ring-and-dot decoration, at least on the lower half of the body. There is no further discernible decoration elsewhere on the brooch. This brooch is similar in shape to Mackreth plate 138, p141, no. 10438, but is more similar in decoration to plate 140, p145, no.10431, though it has a singular, central line of decoration rather than two parallel lines. It has a rough patina, and is light green in colour. In total, the brooch weighs 12.51g.

Date: 290 - 400

Object type: BROOCH

Last import: September 22, 2022