Surveys of Roman period finds recorded by the Portable Antiquities Scheme have been published in Britannia annually since 2004.Footnote 1 This eleventh report gives an overview of the finds reported in 2013 and of their character and distribution. As in previous reports, descriptions then follow of significant individual artefacts recorded by Finds Liaison Officers in the year concerned, selected because of their iconography and/or their contribution to the understanding of object type or distribution, in some cases being items not previously recorded in the repertoire of small finds from the province.
OVERVIEW
Over 33,000 artefacts of Roman date were recorded on the PAS database in 2013, a figure that, as in previous years, includes those finds to which a date has been attributed that spans the late Iron Age and early Roman period. Table 1 shows the number of Roman non-ceramic artefacts recorded on the database by county and grouped by PAS region, and in the following four categories: coins, brooches, other personal adornment and other non-ceramic objects. Like the last two reports this year's summarised form of reporting replaces the former scheme, in which non-ceramic finds were presented in their functional groupings; some adjustment has been made this year to this simplified reporting scheme to reflect the significant numbers of non-brooch personal ornament finds documented.Footnote 2 The reports published between 2004 and 2011 present the data according to the major small find functional categories, giving a large sample for characterising PAS finds as a whole and by region.
TABLE 1 NUMBERS OF NON-CERAMIC ARTEFACTS RECORDED BY THE PAS IN 2013 BY COUNTY AND TYPE
The 2013 finds recorded by the PAS comprise 29,739 objects, excluding ceramics.Footnote 3 3,364 fragments of Roman pottery were also reported as well as small quantities of architectural material (tesserae, brick and tile, and wall plaster) and ceramic and stone objects, including sculptural fragments, querns and weights. As in previous reports coins are the most common Roman artefact recorded in the database: the 26,451 individual coin finds documented in 2013 account for 88.9 per cent of the total metallic finds, a higher number than in recent years and a higher than usual percentage of Roman period objects recorded.Footnote 4 Those reported this year take the total number of Roman coins documented by the scheme to c. 162,000, a quantity that reflects the continuing impact of the initiative to record large assemblages of Roman coins in toto.Footnote 5 The regional distribution of the coins reported for 2013 is very similar to that of previous years, with much greater quantities being recorded in the eastern and some central and southern counties of England than in northern and western England and Wales. In most cases the unusually high numbers reported from individual counties are the product of the documentation of large hoards comprising several hundred coins.Footnote 6 The high total from north Lincolnshire is the result of the documentation of a substantial collection of metal-detected finds from South Ferriby.
The 1,722 brooches recorded for 2013 account for c. 5.8 per cent of all finds recorded in 2013. The lower than usual percentage is in part a product of the inclusion of some significant hoards among the coin totals reported. The number of brooches reported this year brings the total number documented by the Scheme between 2003 and 2013 to 18,838.Footnote 7 The distribution of brooches is also very similar to that documented in previous years, higher numbers occurring in eastern counties from North Yorkshire to Essex and in some central southern and south-western counties. The number from Norfolk is somewhat higher than in previous years. The phenomenon observed in previous reports that the general ratio of coins to brooches masks significant regional variability is again documented this year; in particular there is a significantly higher than average ratio of brooches to coins reported in some counties of the west and north-west Midlands and Yorkshire, although the absolute numbers of finds concerned are not large.Footnote 8 Other items of personal adornment (principally finger-rings, bracelets and beads) account for c. 1.6 per cent of the overall number of non-ceramic finds reported, but as Table 1 shows there is very significant variability in the ratio of brooch to other personal ornament finds that is not confined to counties with small sample sizes.
As previous reports have noted, the distribution of the finds documented by the PAS demonstrates significant and complex regional variation which takes a generally similar form in each year's statistics and is now established on the basis of a very substantial sample. This distribution pattern is the likely product of several factors, including the character of Roman period societies and their economic activity, historic and contemporary farming practice, and the varying intensity of metal-detection across England and Wales.Footnote 9 We note, as this year's statistics show, that some variability is introduced by the inclusion of hoards and very substantial collections of objects in a given year's records. As the personal ornament statistics indicate, this also causes some variability in the numerical significance of different object types in a single year's records.
ARTEFACT DESCRIPTIONS
The entries below set out some individual highlights of the past year's discoveries recorded by members of the PAS and Treasure Department at the British Museum.Footnote 10 Fuller details of the objects recorded by the PAS can be obtained from the Scheme's central office,Footnote 11 and there are descriptions of finds on the PAS website: www.finds.org.uk. The reference number in brackets associated with each record is the PAS identifying find record. Four items were also treated as treasure cases and their Treasure number is also given in the format of year (20XX) plus reference number (TXX).Footnote 12
The objects presented below belong to various categories: personal ornament, household, religious and magical objects, and anthropomorphic and zoomorphic figures. They are mostly copper alloy, but also include occasional examples in silver, lead alloy and lead, and encompass a wide iconographic, stylistic and technical diversity. Their date extends from the transitional phase between the Iron Age and Roman periods to Late Antiquity. In detail they comprise the following: a fragment of large-scale bronze sculpture (human); seven anthropomorphic and zoomorphic figurines, including two representations of priapic figures and a miniature horse and rider; a gold amulet with multiple motifs with Mithraic echoes; personal ornament including bow brooches (a silver-gilt trumpet brooch, and headstud and Polden Hill brooches in unusual forms), zoomorphic plate brooches with enamel inlay (fish, double-headed marine monster), a gilded disc brooch, a silver bracelet with a bezel and gem in situ, showing Jupiter, a silver finger-ring with a bust on its bezel, a herm-like pendant, and a neck-collar fragment; vessel fragments including spouts and mounts with ox-head imagery, a basin handle with opposing birds, and a piece of a large lead tank with saltire motif; two figured handles from folding knives, one a Venus pudica and the other in the form of a feline trapezophoros; other items including a looped and skirted terret, an eagle on hoop, a polychrome enamelled mount, and a lead plaque showing a statue in an architectural setting.
CUMBRIA
(1) Ulverston (PAS-A7DC11; 2012 T627) ( fig. 1).Footnote 13 A second- to third-century silver bracelet with a twisted hoop, now distorted, and a hinged bezel. The diameter of the hoop varies between 80 and 61 mm; the bezel, including the lugs, is 36.4 mm wide and has a diameter of 26.8 mm. The hoop weighs 41.7 g and the bezel and gem weigh 16.5 g. The distorted elliptical hoop comprises a fine and evenly-twisted, tightly-spiralled tube made from silver wire. Each terminal is enclosed in a tubular collar which is decorated with an applied central meander in filigree wire flanked on either side by a double-ring edge-moulding. The rectangular opening in their broken ends once secured the hinged ends of the now separate bezel. The large circular bezel, a hollow box construction of silver sheet, has a plain back and sides. Its ornate upper face comprises an outer basal zone of herringbone pattern, formed from three concentric circles of twisted wire, and a central raised open dome with a ribbed and stepped side. The oval gem, of translucent orange-red, has dropped out of position to the base of the box-setting. Engraved into its lightly convex surface is the image of a seated Jupiter, with wreath and full-length drapery, holding a sceptre in his left hand. In his extended right hand he holds a patera above a stylised flaming altar. The gemstone's engraved image is similar to that on a carnelian intaglio from Vindolanda.Footnote 14
FIG. 1. Ulverston, silver bracelet with intaglio setting (No. 1). Not to scale. (Photo: © The British Museum)
The bezel was fastened to the hoop by means of a pair of silver strips soldered to its back. Their rolled terminals form a pair of lugs at either side of the bezel. One pair, which acted as a hinge, retains a fixed axis bar, at the centre of which are the remains of a simple looped hinge-tag, the other end of which was originally fixed into one of the hoop terminals. The other pair of lugs, now empty, would have held a removable locking pin which passed through them and a central loop projecting from the other hoop terminal.
Parallels in gold for this very rare type of hinged-bezel bracelet and for a silvered-bronze variant form are known respectively from Egypt and the Rhineland.Footnote 15
CHESHIRE
(2) Knutsford area (LVPL-180D95; 2012 T406) ( fig. 2).Footnote 16 A large silver-gilt trumpet brooch documented within a hoard consisting of 101 Roman denarii (dated 32 b.c. to a.d. 191) and two sestertii, three trumpet brooches (including this one), two rosettes from those brooches, two silver finger-rings, and ceramic sherds. The width of the brooch at the head is 25 mm; the length (without headloop) is 89 mm. Its total weight is 93.5 g (the body is 84.2 g, the broken foot 6.2 g). The brooch is of Mackreth's sub-type 1.2c1 with a petalled knop.Footnote 17 There is an elaborate scroll pattern cast on the head. The lower bow has two curvilinear relief-moulded designs resembling stylised waves with projecting points and a knurled double moulding above the petalled foot, which terminates in a circular boss with a central projection. The catchplate has four circular perforations, three in a triangular formation towards the top and a single perforation towards the bottom.
FIG. 2. Knutsford area, silver-gilt trumpet brooch (No. 2). Scale 1:1. (Photo: V. Oakden; © V. Oakden and National Museums Liverpool)
A silver-gilt petalled rosette mount, with a central boss, was originally attached to the now missing headloop. The separate rosette (diameter 11.6 mm, height 10.3 mm, and weight before cleaning 5 g) consists of eleven thin evenly-spaced petals surrounding a small conical boss, separated from it by a shallow moulded ring. The design is mounted on a circular base, 4.4 mm thick with a concave edge and four moulded ridges around the circumference. Two fragments of wire found with the rosette are likely to have originally been threaded through the perforations, but are no longer attached. The upper surface and sides of the base are gilded. Detached examples have been found at Wroxeter and Bourton on the Water.Footnote 18
The petalled type of trumpet brooch is strongly western and northern in its distribution.Footnote 19 A very close parallel can be seen in the brooch from the nearby Church Minshull (Cheshire) hoard.Footnote 20 This is a very large brooch estimated to be between 80 and 90 mm long, but it was deliberately broken and is incomplete. The head decoration is very similar to the Knutsford area example. A smaller brooch from Carmarthen (63 mm long) provides another strong parallel.Footnote 21 There is little doubt that the two exceptionally large brooches from the Knutsford area and Church Minshull hoards were manufactured by the same workshop or craftsman, possibly even from the same mould. A fragment of another very large example from the Baths Basilica at Wroxeter might also be from the same mould or workshop.Footnote 22 A pair of silver trumpet brooches linked by a chain was also found with coins from Galba to Hadrian at Chorley, Lancs.Footnote 23
NORTH YORKSHIRE
(3) Terrington (YORYM-F46085) ( fig. 3).Footnote 24 A fragment of the right eye of a slightly over life-size bronze statue of a mature human figure, its age indicated by the rendering of the baggy flesh above the eyelid. It is 52 mm high, 69 mm wide, varies in thickness between 1.5 and 15 mm, and weighs 226 g. The gender is difficult to determine. The iris and pupil are not preserved, while some parts of the eyelids are chipped away. The separately made eyelashes are also missing. The middle part of the eyeball below the missing iris is flattened. The iris, pupil and eyelashes were separately made of different materials and attached using the corresponding slots. The interior of the fragment is convex and its surface relatively smooth. In all probability, a combination of both the direct and the indirect lost wax casting method was used.Footnote 25 No patches or recessions for patches are visible on the epidermis of the fragment, which implies that the cast was successful. It is not certain whether the subject is an exclusively personalised portrait of an emperor or an idealised work also bearing certain naturalistic features. The work suffered severe damage and the separately made iris and pupil must have been intentionally and violently detached from the eyeball.
FIG. 3. Terrington, right eye of statue (No. 3). Scale 1:1. (Photo: R. Griffiths; © R. Griffiths and York Museums Trust)
This fragment, the findspot of which lies in the Howardian Hills more than 10 km west of Malton and 25 km north of York, is the most recently reported of several from large-scale bronze statuary documented by the PAS, mainly from northern and eastern England and including representations of anthropomorphic and equine figures.Footnote 26
(4) Knaresborough (YORYM-2ODC35) ( fig. 4).Footnote 27 A complete copper-alloy miniature leg with shod foot, which survives in good condition. The object is 43.7 mm tall, 11.7 mm in diameter at the calf, and the foot is 21.5 mm long and 7.5 mm wide; it weighs 23.2 g. It appears to represent the lower leg, its upper part terminating in a flat surface with rounded edges just below the knee. The foot wears a sandal, indicated by a double moulding at mid-calf, around the ankle and under the heel. The recessed areas within the moulding are decorated with herringbone incision. Similar objects have been recorded by the PAS in the form of knife handles, for example Piercebridge, Darlington (NCL-920745), Mildenhall, Wilts. (WAW-4A9746), Carlton, Cambs. (CAM-DDFE12), and Weybridge, Surrey (SUR-E8CBD2). However the lack of a slot for the blade in this case makes this an unlikely identification for this object. Instead it is perhaps to be classed as one of a relatively small number of miniature representations of human limbs and other body parts in various materials which may have served as anatomical votives.Footnote 28
FIG. 4. Knaresborough, miniature leg with shod foot (No. 4). Scale 1:1. (Photo: R. Griffiths; © R. Griffiths and York Museums Trust)
(5) Cawood (SWYOR-A153A2) ( fig. 5).Footnote 29 A copper-alloy anthropomorphic priapic figurine. It is 66.3 mm long, 18.1 mm wide, 20.6 mm thick, and weighs 60 g. The rather worn figure is schematically rendered, the main emphasis lying on the grotesquely outsized erect phallus and large testicles. It is difficult to distinguish headgear from facial features on the oversized head, but he appears to wear a hat in three sections, perhaps a schematically rendered Phrygian cap or hood. Below this little is visible of the small and worn face save for the nose and hollows for eyes. The figure has short arms, hunched at the shoulder and angled towards the penis, though the hands are not indicated. The thighs are almost completely obscured by the genitalia. The legs are straight, held tightly together and the thickened lower extremities terminate in feet extended forward. The reverse of the figurine is flat apart from a deep circular hole in the centre of the torso, drilled after casting and possibly for attachment.
FIG. 5. Cawood, priapic figurine (No. 5). Scale 1: 1. (Photo: A. Downes; © A. Downes)
Other priapic copper-alloy figurines recorded by PAS include those from Helmsley, North Yorks. (LVPL-D9A6B5), Billingford, Norfolk (HESH-A1B593), Ingham, Suffolk (SF177545), Leicestershire (LEIC-C96B33Footnote 30 ), and Thorrington, Essex (ESS-E6F9E3), although the last is an accomplished naturalising representation. Images of Priapus are not otherwise especially common finds in Britain or elsewhere in the northern provinces.Footnote 31
(6) Littlethorpe (YORYM-B3FE27) ( fig. 6).Footnote 32 A very roughly cast and crudely modelled worn lead-alloy priapic figurine, again with grotesquely exaggerated erect phallus and testicles.Footnote 33 It is 60 mm long, 15.5 mm wide, 30 mm thick, and weighs 68 g. The figure is standing but strongly arched backwards, perhaps emphasising a thrusting motion. The head is very crude and facial features cannot be identified; the figure may wear a hood. Arms may be indicated on the front of the torso. A scored ‘X’(?) and a circular recess (casting flaw?) occur on the back. Below the waist the legs are separated but not the feet.
FIG. 6. Littlethorpe, priapic figurine (No. 6). Scale 1:1. (Photo: L. Andrews-Wilson; © L. Andrews-Wilson and York Museums Trust)
Similar examples in lead alloy on the PAS database are from Rainford, Warrington (LVPL-D48DD6), Sambourne, Warwicks. (WAW-B5A6B8), Ripon, North Yorks. (YORYM-B3FE27), and Heywood, Rochdale (LVPL-D9A6B5); Emma Durham reports another lead example from East Bergholt, Suffolk.Footnote 34 In the corpus of ithyphallic figurines from Britain and other provinces crudely modelled examples of this type have so far received little attention.Footnote 35
EAST RIDING OF YORKSHIRE
(7) Bestwick (YORYM-F902B4) ( fig. 7).Footnote 36 An unusual, almost complete, copper-alloy headstud brooch variant. It is 52.5 mm long, 21.9 mm wide, 5.6 mm thick, and weighs 13.9 g. The fixed headloop is in the form of a figure of eight with projections where the two loops join. The pin (now missing) was hinged and held behind the head; the short, wide rectangular wings are stepped at each end and ribbed horizontally. On the upper bow is a rectangular spine decorated with horizontal grooves which appears to duplicate the forward chord of headstud brooches with a sprung pin mechanism.Footnote 37 Below the spine is an integral headstud decorated with radiating grooves resulting in raised triangular cells.Footnote 38 The bow is otherwise plain and the foot knob is missing; the catchplate is extended but now incomplete.
FIG. 7. Bestwick, variant headstud brooch (No. 7). Scale 1:1. (Photo: R. Griffiths; © R. Griffiths and York Museums Trust)
This is an unusual form of the headstud brooch, both in the form of the headloop and the stud. The headstud brooch in general is otherwise documented in more than 1,000 examples among PAS records, with a very clear regional concentration emerging in its distribution which centres on central and southern Yorkshire and the east Midlands.Footnote 39
NORTH LINCOLNSHIRE
(8) Scawby (NLM-F3AA42) ( fig. 8).Footnote 40 A complete copper-alloy vessel spout, measuring 36.9 mm long, having a maximum width between the two horns of 28 mm, and weighing 29.2 g. The hollow conical spout is in the form of a stylised bovine head, having two incomplete attachment holes where it joined the vessel. Behind the horns is an integrally cast solid small animal, possibly a dog or hare, sitting on top of the head with its back paws beneath it and front paws outstretched. The horns curve forwards and between them a fringe of hair is indicated by a ribbed moulding. A curved line extending forward from the base of each horn meets between the eyes, while below the head a raised line runs from the junction of the jaw and neck to the open mouth. These lines schematically render the bovine cranium and mandible. The circular eye recesses may have contained other material, now lost. From the open mouth projects a circular spout. The spout tapers from its point of attachment to the vessel (external diameter 16.3 mm) to the mouth (external diameter 6.9 mm).
FIG. 8. Scawby, vessel spout in form of an ox head (No. 8). Scale 1:1. (Photo: K. Leahy; © K. Leahy)
On the basis of attributes, such as the circular eyes and its style, this and other similar spouts recorded by the PAS, particularly from Lincolnshire, including Wickenby (NLM-5DF5D6), Walcote Near Folkingham (LIN-70CE92), and Lea (LIN-Co1145), as well as Freckenham, Suffolk (SF8686), seem more likely to be late Iron Age to Roman in date than the example with lentoid eyes from Kirmington to which May gives an earlier date.Footnote 41
LINCOLNSHIRE
(9) Marton (LIN-54A031) ( fig. 9).Footnote 42 A copper-alloy zoomorphic ring, with an oval hoop on which sits a figure of an eagle holding a fish, cast integrally with it. The eagle's anatomy is approximately modelled. Its curving and oversized beak grasps the head of the fish, while the talons hold the tail fin. A recess on either side of the head for the eyes may once have contained enamel. On either side of the top of the head a deep groove delineates a crest which carries hatched decoration. At the back of the head is a small circular recess. The short thick neck shows worn traces of incisions on either side, indicating plumage. From the base of the neck a strip runs to the bird's tail, carrying punched circular decoration. The unevenly sized wings are folded, the left being larger than the right, and taper to the tail of the bird. Each wing is divided into five rectangular panels set obliquely to this medial strip, carrying hatched decoration. The panels are not evenly spaced on either side. On the eagle's right wing the detail of feathering is indicated by punched semi-circles, on the left by chevrons. The fish has a large tail and small ventral fin; some facial detail is visible, including eyes and probable gills.
FIG. 9. Marton, zoomorphic ring (No. 9). Scale 1:1. (Photo: A. Daubney; © A. Daubney)
The hoop is 5.9 mm wide, 2.7 mm thick, and is roughly rectangular in cross-section. Around its external face runs a single incised groove, with hatching on either side. It has some wear at the base, particularly on the front edge, suggesting that it was fastened at this point. The talons of the bird extend down towards the centre of the hoop so that it could not have been worn as a finger-ring or have served as a mount on a pole or staff.
Other zoomorphic hoops carrying a bird, perhaps a duck, rendered in a naturalistic manner are documented from Stourport-on-Severn, Worcs. (WMID-108CD4), Edlington and Wispington, Lincs. (LIN-BE7512), and Claxby-by-Alford, Lincs.Footnote 43 However, in these cases the body position is such that the bird does not obstruct the hoop opening, unlike the Marton eagle. The function of this object is uncertain.
(10) Leasingham (LIN-287280) ( fig. 10).Footnote 44 A copper-alloy pendant in the form of a bearded male figure with a large phallus. The pendant is 54 mm long and 17 mm wide. Above the head is a broken suspension loop. The head is very crudely rendered in three dimensions, with a long broad nose, deep-set hollows for eyes, a slit mouth with large lips and a prominent chin. It is almost as long as the body which comprises a schematically rendered trunk, narrowing at the waist. Limbs are not represented, but a large, semi-erect penis projects from it. Phallic pendants and other items with phallic motifs are a not uncommon find among objects documented by the PAS.Footnote 45 This particular herm-like form, probably a harness pendant, is however a rare find in Britain. A parallel from Eck en Wiel, De Hoge End, Gelderland (Netherlands), is catalogued by Nicolay.Footnote 46
FIG. 10. Leasingham, pendant in the form of a bearded male figure with large phallus (No. 10). Scale 1:1. (Photo: A. Daubney; © A. Daubney)
(11) Ludford (DENO-FE87A5) ( fig. 11).Footnote 47 An incomplete copper-alloy mount with partially preserved complex polychrome enamel decoration. The disc is 49.6 mm in diameter, 1.9 mm thick and weighs 16 g. The decoration on the front comprises three concentric circular fields separated by white metal bands; within each field are repeated millefiori motifs. The outer field has a background of blue enamel with a repeating motif comprising a central red square with four outer white squares; twenty-one repetitions of the motif survive. The middle field carries a repeated motif of a nine-square chequer pattern of alternating blue and white enamel against a red background. The majority of the inner field has been lost through damage, but again it carries a repeated chequerboard motif of indistinct form, perhaps with some black outlining, set against a mainly blue background with some patches of red. At the centre is a circular hole which probably held a missing rivet. On the back of the mount a raised rim is preserved around most of the margin.
FIG. 11. Ludford, mount with millefiori chequer patterns (No. 11). Scale 1:1. (Photo: C. Burrill; © C. Burrill and Derby City Council)
Harness mounts with millefiori chequer patterns recorded with PAS include the stud previously published from Glanton, Northumbd (NCL-A38DF3) with parallels,Footnote 48 and other more recent examples from Buslingthorpe, Lincs. (LIN-225302), Bolam, Co. Durham (DUR-C60B52), and a mount with a spike on the reverse from Thurnham, Norfolk (NMS-40A082).
SHROPSHIRE
(12) Stanton Lacey (HESH-A74856) ( fig. 12).Footnote 49 An incomplete, but otherwise well-preserved copper-alloy Polden Hill brooch, 51.4 mm long, 16.1 mm wide (across wings), 7.8 mm wide across bow, 5.1 mm thick across the bow, and weighing 13.1 g. Each wing has a cap with a single circumferential groove at the edge. The bow is comma-shaped in profile and a large central rib from the rearward-facing hook runs along it. The rib is notched and carries evenly spaced roundels, not quite symmetrically placed, on either side of it. The cylindrical footknob is decorated with a turned design with a single conical pellet at the base. The exterior of the catch-plate carries curvilinear incised decoration. Comparable decoration is documented on a small number of large brooches of similar type.Footnote 50
FIG. 12. Stanton Lacey, Polden Hill brooch (No. 12). Scale 1:1. (Photo: P. Reavill; © P. Reavill and Birmingham City Council)
(13) Drayton Bassett (WMID-D965B4) ( fig. 13).Footnote 51 A very poorly preserved fragment of a copper-alloy enamelled figurine of a cockerel. It is 45 mm long, 28.9 mm wide, and 14.8 mm thick. Enough is preserved of the head for the worn beak, comb and eyes to be identifiable. The circular eyes, with that on the right being better preserved, comprise a red enamel pupil and iris separated by a band of reserved metal. A raised knop at the back of the head represents the comb. On the top of the head and where the neck is broken the clay core is visible. The figurine has a dark green patina and a heavily abraded surface.
FIG. 13. Drayton Bassett, figurine of a cockerel (No. 13). Scale 1:1. (Photo: E. Markwick; © E. Markwick and Birmingham City Council)
Two similar enamelled cockerel figurines have been recorded by the PAS from Slyne-with-Hest, Lancs. (LANCUM-361F75) and Cople, Beds. (SOM-745EA2).Footnote 52 This object type is documented across north-west Europe, but examples with good contextual information are limited. One from Buchten (Netherlands) carries a dedication to a local deity, while an exceptionally well-preserved example was excavated in 2013 at Tetbury Road, Cirencester, where it had been placed in a child's grave.Footnote 53 It is not possible to suggest where this object was originally manufactured, but workshops producing enamelled bronzes are known from the Rhineland and Belgium.Footnote 54
WORCESTERSHIRE
(14) Dodderhill (WAW-378661) ( fig. 14).Footnote 55 A copper-alloy folding-knife handle depicting a nude standing figure of Venus, modelled in the round, with traces of the iron blade surviving. The handle is 79.3 mm long, 19.2 mm wide, 9 mm thick at the pedestal and rivet, and weighs 39.5 g. The left hand of the goddess covers her genitalia and her right hand is raised to the top of her head. A plain bracelet is shown on the left wrist and an armlet on the upper left arm, as well as a plain band around each ankle. The right eye, tip of the nose and slit mouth are visible, but the remaining facial detail is lost to wear. The hair, however, on the back of her head is visible in the form of vertical bands. The arms are poorly modelled, the upper and lower right arm in particular being of markedly different size. The figure is flat chested and there are three recesses on the torso, two to represent the nipples and one the navel. The latter is placed where the left hand of the figure should lie. The figure flares at the hips with large buttocks and thighs and stout legs which are crossed in an anatomically impossible pose. The pedestal, on which the figure stands, is rectangular and decorated with a moulding close to its upper edge where it joins the figure. Part of an iron blade remains in situ where it has corroded in its folded position within a slot in the handle. Corrosion has spread from the rivet across much of the pedestal.
FIG. 14. Dodderhill, folding-knife handle depicting Venus (No. 14). Scale 1:1. (Photo: A. Bolton; © A. Bolton and Birmingham City Council)
Figural folding-knife handles are most commonly seen in the form of a hound chasing a hare.Footnote 56 Representations of Venus on handles are not otherwise documented, although other figures represented among objects reported to the PAS include erotic scenes (HAMP-4D3135, LIN-536F87, SF-A23522, SWYOR-374234), a left-handed gladiator (NCL-393023), and a wrestling pair, probably Hercules and Antaeus (LIN-15BB58).Footnote 57 Represented as Venus pudica the goddess is a not uncommon find among figurines from Roman Britain; the Dodderhill handle unusually combines this modesty with the goddess also touching her wet hair.Footnote 58 These gestures may be an evocation of bathing, perhaps an oblique reference to the possible toilet function of the knife.Footnote 59
ESSEX
(15) Braintree (BH-4885C5) ( fig. 15).Footnote 60 An ornate copper-alloy handle from a basin. The object measures 134.5 mm long, 39.7 mm high, and weighs 137 g. It is slightly damaged and, prior to conservation, was heavily corroded. The main body of the handle is roughly semi-circular and has up-turned hemispherical terminals which serve to attach the handle to the side of the vessel. The handle carries two opposed bird figures, one either side of a spherical object. Both figures are elongated and the birds have especially long tails, the tips of which rest on the hemispherical handle terminals. Their claws grip the handle and cast detail shows facial features and feathers on the wings. A similar, but less decorative handle (lacking the avian figures) was discovered in a mid-first-century deposit at Balkerne Lane, Colchester and it is possible that this example dates from the same period.Footnote 61 A similar handle from a shallow basin is documented from Poulseur, Liège (Belgium), but in this case the main loop of the handle is in the form of a two-headed serpent and the animals perched on it are dogs, not birds.Footnote 62
FIG. 15. Braintree, handle from a basin with bird figures (No. 15). Scale 1:2. (Drawn by D. Watters; © D. Watters and St Albans Museum)
NORTHAMPTONSHIRE
(16) Towcester (NARC-40B3F3) ( fig. 16).Footnote 63 A first-century a.d. complete copper-alloy strap looped and skirted terret. The terret is 57 mm long; the hoop is 47 mm in diameter and 4.5 mm thick, and the skirt is 36 mm wide, 27 mm long and 20 mm deep. There is some wear visible on the loop and some damage to one side of the skirt. The terret has a large sub-circular hoop, bearing traces of a white metal coating, which is inlaid on both front and back with approximately 35 square cells infilled with niello. Globular collars occur at the junction between the hoop and the bulbous upper section of the collared skirt, inside which sits a copper-alloy loop. This type lacks close parallels among documented terrets.Footnote 64 The suggested dating is based on the use of niello.
FIG. 16. Towcester, terret with niello decoration (No. 16). Scale 1:1. (Photo: J. Cassidy; © J. Cassidy)
CAMBRIDGESHIRE
(17) Fen Ditton (SF-924955) ( fig. 17).Footnote 65 A cast copper-alloy object, perhaps a mount, comprising a hoop, which frames a figure of an eagle, and a conjoined cylinder. The object is 29.8 mm long, 24.7 mm wide, varies from 4.2 mm (eagle/hoop) to 10.8 mm thick (cylinder), and weighs 20.1 g. The object is quite worn, but the eagle is represented in three-quarter view, with its head to the right, wings extended, and its tail visible behind the right leg which is placed forward of the left. Some short vertical grooves indicating plumage survive, but the features of the head and beak are unclear. The back of the eagle is flat and plain. The eagle stands within a thick, twisted hoop with a single circular rivet-hole at the top. Traces of iron corrosion within this suggest that it was originally attached to another object. At the base of the hoop there is a large transverse cylinder upon which the eagle stands. Each end of the cylinder is flattened and has a double collar. The body of the cylinder bears the remains of three spiral mouldings which run its length, that on the front face being less well preserved than the other two. Traces of a probable white metal coating are visible on the front face, particularly on the eagle itself. Depictions of eagles within wreaths are known in Roman metalwork, such as the openwork belt fittings which combine an eagle and invocation of Jupiter, but the precise function of the Fen Ditton object remains uncertain.Footnote 66
FIG. 17. Fen Ditton, mount with framed figure of an eagle (No. 17). Scale 1:1. (Photo: A. Brown; © Suffolk County Council)
BUCKINGHAMSHIRE
(18) Bledlow cum Saunderton (BUC-0C7D27) ( fig. 18).Footnote 67 A cast copper-alloy small figurine of a lion standing on a low base. It is 48.4 mm long, 40 mm high, 9.4 mm thick (body), 15 mm wide at the base, and weighs 46.3 g. This well-modelled lion stands with head raised and facing forwards. His mouth is slightly open, but without the teeth shown. The eyes are represented as pellets in the centre of oval hollows and the ears are laid back against the wavy mane. A ruff encircles the neck. The neck and head are large in relation to the rather slender and smooth body, although the thickening of the haunches indicates their power. Its tail curls up and the toes are shown as grooves in the feet. The lion's penis is visible beneath the torso. The animal stands on a rectangular hollow stepped plinth and at each corner of the base the sides extend into a squared foot.
FIG. 18. Bledlow cum Saunderton, figurine of a lion standing on a low base (No. 18). Scale 1:1. (Photo: R. Tyrell; © R. Tyrell and Buckinghamshire County Council)
Of the small number of other lion figurines from Britain almost all are represented couchant rather than standing and many may have been vessel or furniture attachments rather than free-standing figures.Footnote 68 Examples from Carnuntum (though better modelled) illustrate the occasional occurrence of similar standing figurines in other provinces.Footnote 69 Other figurine bases have been reported in PAS finds but not in this form.Footnote 70 This base is, however, paralleled in general terms by examples from Scafati (Italy), Reims (France), and Enns (Austria), though it is plainer than these.Footnote 71
(19) Akeley (BUC-6FDA52) ( fig. 19).Footnote 72 A copper-alloy folding-knife handle in the form of a panther as trapezophoros, i.e. a schematised representation of the animal as a furniture support. The object is 87.5 mm long and 30.1 mm thick. The panther faces forwards and has a deeply-curved, S-shaped form. Above the panther's head there is a rectangular section and a rivet which secures the iron blade. Corroded traces of the blade are visible at the back of the panther. The animal has a broad head with small, rounded ears and eyes and nostrils which are impressed. The folds of skin around the neck are accentuated. The mouth is open wide with the tongue and teeth in upper and lower jaws visible. The handle terminates in a single large paw, subdivided into four toes with claws visible; fur is detailed on the upper surface of the paw. No parallel has been found from an excavated context, but the object resembles others recorded by PAS, notably from Standon, Herts. (BH-EDA355),Footnote 73 Wickham Skeith, Suffolk (SF-CA2A74), Hindringham, Norfolk (NMS-F5BB61), Burgh by Sands, Cumbria (LVPL151), and Kirkby Lonsdale, Cumbria (LANCUM-829F52).Footnote 74 Other domestic objects also employ panthers as trapezophoros figures.Footnote 75
FIG. 19. Akeley, folding-knife handle in the form of a panther as trapezophoros (No. 19). Scale 1:1. (Photo: R. Tyrell; © R. Tyrell and Buckinghamshire County Council)
NORFOLK
(20) Keswick and Intwood (NMS-B9A004; 2012 T142) ( fig. 20).Footnote 76 A thin gold sheet disc, now distorted (folded almost in half), with repoussé decoration, 20 mm in diameter and weighing 1 g. The decoration consists of a central eye, rendered with its upper and lower lid and a pupil indicated by a central raised dot, surrounded by (clockwise from the top) a lion, phallus, crab, phallus, snake, scorpion, arrow, and bow and arrow. The phallus in each case points towards the eye as do, respectively, the pincers, teeth or projectile points of the animals and weapons. A border around the edge of the disc consists of two lines of beading, through which are two circular perforations.
FIG. 20. Keswick and Intwood, gold sheet disc (amulet??), showing the ‘all-suffering eye’ (No. 20). Scale: 2:1. (Drawn by J. Gibbons; © Norfolk Landscape Archaeology)
Representations of the phallus, especially in the form of pendants, are commonly reported among PAS finds and in excavation assemblages from Britain and beyond and are a widespread apotropaic motif.Footnote 77 The combination of phallus and eye, widely met in antiquity also, indicates the ‘special power’ of the former over the Evil Eye.Footnote 78 This combination of motifs is, however, more complex and rarer. A similar but unperforated repoussé gold disc — subsequently identified as an ear-ring — with a winged phallus and a cantharus flanked by winged griffins is known from Colchester from a context dated to the mid-first to mid-second century a.d.Footnote 79 The Keswick and Intwood example, however, much more closely resembles instances of amulets and other media of Roman date featuring multiple assailants against the ‘all-suffering eye’. Like other examples, this also follows the tendency for celestial or solar attackers as well as man-made weapons to be placed above or beside the eye, with natural and chthonic creatures below.Footnote 80
(21) Warham (NMS-32FEA3) ( fig. 21).Footnote 81 A very small copper-alloy figurine depicting a stylised horse and rider in the round standing on a flat base. It is 28 mm long, 31 mm high, 7.5 mm wide, and weighs 14.2 g. The horse, with arched neck and outsized head bending downwards and to the right, is open-mouthed and its front legs, shown as a single bar, are flexed. The mane is represented only by a rib. The body of the horse is slender and the tail appears simply as a low rectangular moulding. The hind legs are also conjoined. The rider's legs are almost straight and his feet merge beneath his mount. His left hand rests on the horse's neck and is emphasised by two short engraved grooves, while the lower right arm is not visible. The rider's head, like the horse, is also outsized and there is little attempt to model its shape. His face is featureless apart from two engraved eyes and a slit mouth, while hair rather than a helmet is indicated with engraved lines. The rider appears to be mounted bareback. No parallel has been noted, and the object is most unlike other Roman horse and rider figurines.Footnote 82
FIG. 21. Warham, figurine depicting a horse and rider (No. 21). Scale 1:1. (Drawn by J. Gibbons; © Norfolk Landscape Archaeology)
(22) Thompson (NMS-4CEB66) ( fig. 22).Footnote 83 A fragment of a large decorated lead vessel, measuring 150 mm by 95 mm and up to 7 mm thick. The fragment is sub-rectangular, with two intersecting cabled lines (i.e. forming a partially-preserved saltire) and an area of roughly crosshatched scratched lines, as well as small patches of iron corrosion on the decorated face. The inner face is plain. None of the original edges survives, and although three sides have been fairly neatly cut, one is irregular with multiple cut and hack marks.
FIG. 22. Thompson, fragment of a large decorated lead vessel (No. 22). Scale 1:2. (Photo: E. Darch; © Norfolk County Council)
Similar lead vessels have been reported to the PAS, from Ludford, Lincs. (LIN-E8F806) and Parwich, Derbys. (WMID-7FF438), as well as an inscribed lead tank discovered in Lincoln (LIN-9C11F6).Footnote 84 These findspots coincide with the areas in which vessels of this type have been most frequently discovered. In other respects too this find is typical of the wider corpus, for example both its decoration and subsequent treatment, i.e. its deliberate cutting-up. Previously identified as baptismal fonts, the vessels' ritual use and religious affiliations are now seen as potentially less exclusive to Christianity.Footnote 85
SUFFOLK
(23) Clare (SF-301791) ( fig. 23).Footnote 86 A near square flat lead-alloy plaque, measuring 41.4 mm by 38.5 mm, 4.2 mm thick, and weighing 42.4 g. The plaque has some damage to the edges. The front face has extensive relief decoration showing an architectural scene. The back face is undecorated, save for the impression of some details from the front. The scene appears to be a colonnaded façade. A pair of columns topped by an arcuated pediment appears on either side of an arched opening, perhaps representing an apse or niche; above an attic may be indicated by horizontal mouldings. The column pairs are separated by a vertical division; this is perhaps intended to achieve some perspectival effect, distinguishing the central arch from the framing elements. Within the central arch, which is shorter than the columns to either side, a statue stands on a pedestal which itself is raised on a step. The figure is shown standing, its left arm reaching downwards, with an object at its feet (altar?) and a possible staff (sceptre?) at its right side; no specific deity can, however, be immediately recognised. The individual blocks of the arched frame and a larger wedge-shaped keystone are clearly rendered. The columns forming the architectural features on either side of the central arch are near-identical, in each case with separately rendered capital and base and bearing decoration in the form of horizontal and diagonal grooves. Each pair supports a lintel and curved pediment. Between each pair are three further features arranged vertically — circular at the top, arched in the middle and rectangular at the bottom — which may represent openings, niches or perhaps, in the case of the circular element, an oscillum or clipeus. On both left and right sides further traces of the original decoration (also architectural?) can be seen, but too little is preserved to identify these.
FIG. 23. Clare, plaque with architectural scene (No. 23). Scale 2:1. (Drawn by D. Wreathall; © Suffolk County Council)
No exact parallel has been found, but the scene is broadly reminiscent of architectural representations of shrines on votive metal plaques or small-scale aediculae, such as those from Barkway, Ashwell, and Dorchester in Britain. Unlike most of the other surviving examples, the god here is too small and indistinct to be identified. In other cases too — including one of the other few scenes also rendered in lead from Dorchester (Minerva) — the setting is clearly the shrine itself, as indicated by a temple façade and figure of the god within.Footnote 87 In the Clare example the specific identity of the architectural setting is less clear, but a building of some pretension is indicated, both in its scale and in the elaboration of individual elements. It is posssible that the plaque is votive in nature and depicts a religious scene, a shrine or similar.
WILTSHIRE
(24) Baydon (SUR-E5C457) ( fig. 24).Footnote 88 Fragment of a copper-alloy hinged neck-collar, 15.8 mm wide and weighing 13.8 g. It is smooth on the inside, while on the outside run two rounded ridges with a much narrower ridge between, decorated with engraved lines. The hinged terminal comprises a wide rounded transverse ridge decorated with closely-spaced diagonal engraved lines and thinner transverse ridges, some also notched, on each side. Diagonal engraved lines are also present on either side of the forked terminal for the hinge. The form and decoration of the curved end moulding may echo the effect of beads on beaded torcs.
FIG. 24. Baydon, fragment of a copper-alloy hinged neck-collar (No. 24). Scale 1:1. (Photo: D. Williams; © D. Williams)
These collars have a strong western British distribution, with many from south-west England, and are dated to the last quarter of the first century a.d. to the first quarter of the second. Their form has connections to that of beaded torcs. The hinge mechanism in this case can be closely paralleled on a recent discovery of a burial at Boverton, Vale of Glamorgan and other similar bronze/brass neck collars. Radiocarbon dating of human remains established a second-century a.d. date for the Boverton burial (centring on the middle of the century), but as well as the neck-collar it contained a bracelet pair with first-century a.d. parallels, one of which had been carefully repaired before burial.Footnote 89 The bracelets were perhaps 50–100 years old when deposited and the Boverton neck collar was, therefore, perhaps made between a.d. 75 and a.d. 125. Given this parallel and the character of its decoration, the Baydon example too is likely to be of early Roman date, but with a strong late Iron Age influence on its form.Footnote 90
(25) Tisbury (WILT-5A8A35) ( fig. 25).Footnote 91 A cast copper-alloy figurine of a large feline found in association with its base, but no longer attached to it. Complete save for its front feet (an old break) and rear right leg, the figurine is 77.8 mm long (nose to tail), 22.3 mm wide at its widest point (the flanks), c. 55.5 mm high, and weighs 185 g. The body is hollow with a broadly rectangular cavity. Within the hollow, behind the head, lead is visible. The animal stands poised with its head raised and to the left. Its tail hangs between its legs and curls over the rear left foot. The haunches and back legs (bent as if prepared to spring) are more successfully rendered than the forelimbs, chest, neck and somewhat oversized head. The right ear is flatter against the head than the left, and not quite as high as the angle of the head would naturalistically require. The top of the head is flat and plain, save for a fringe of hair along a brow ridge between the eyes. The right eye is better preserved, comprising a tear-shaped recess, within which is a large raised pupil and above is a ridge, perhaps the eyelid. The broad muzzle bears parallel incisions to indicate whiskers and an open mouth reveals a tongue and two teeth. As with many such figures, it is difficult to be certain whether a panther or leopard is intended. In this case it is unclear whether the small pits distributed irregularly across the muzzle, head, back and legs, represent surface damage or an attempt to render a leopard's spots.
FIG. 25. Tisbury, figurine of a large feline with base (No. 25). Scale 2:3. (Photo: R. Henry; © R. Henry and Salisbury and South Wiltshire Museum)
The incomplete circular pedestal weighs 113 g and has a maximum diameter of 46.1 mm (top). It has three elements: a large base, a narrow central cylindrical shaft and a slightly concave upper platform with two rivet holes, which serve as the points of attachment for the figurine. The rear left foot of the feline has a corresponding hole with the corroded remains of a rivet. Iron corrosion is visible within the interior of the base.
Among the eight small-scale representations of panthers documented by Durham from Britain, some are attachments rather than free-standing figurines and none closely parallel the Tisbury figure. In other representations, mostly female, they often have one paw raised.Footnote 92 Examples of figurines of comparable size are documented on the Continent, for instance from Bonn (Germany), Yverdon (Switzerland), Carnuntum and Petronell (Austria), more commonly again being female and figured in varied poses.Footnote 93 Examples of similar stands are lacking from Britain, but the base finds parallels in continental objects, including instances, for example, from Namur (Belgium), Weissenburg (Germany), Vienna and Enns (Austria).Footnote 94 While other examples of panthers are mainly military or urban in their British findspots, the Tisbury figurine joins the numerous representations from rural Roman Britain of animals in the form of small-scale objects which may be connected to the cult of Bacchus.Footnote 95
HAMPSHIRE
(26) Preston Candover (HAMP-58BF76) ( fig. 26).Footnote 96 An extremely fine gilded disc brooch with a large central setting. The brooch is 36.1 mm in diameter and the pin is 39.7 mm long. It weighs 22.1 g. The brooch is complete except for the glass or gem settings which have been lost. At the centre of the brooch is a setting made of four concentric squares. The two middle squares are similarly decorated with diagonal grooves set in alternate directions. These retain almost intact gilding. On each side beyond the outer square are two pairs of curved mouldings, which taper in opposite directions towards circular settings at each corner. Within each ‘horn’ a central narrow groove expands at the base to form a distinct semi-circular recess. The gilding has been lost on the raised parts of the brooch, including the rim and the borders of all the settings. The central square and the circular cells at each corner have no trace of ever being gilded; they originally held glass or gem settings.
FIG. 26. Preston Candover, gilded disc brooch (No. 26). Scale 1:1. (Photo: K. Hinds; © K. Hinds and Winchester Museums Service)
On the reverse of the brooch are two D-shaped lugs holding the axis bar, around which are two coils and the sprung pin with an internal chord. The catchplate also survives, but the pin-rest is a little damaged. Around both catchplate and spring mechanism traces of the original patina are visible as a dull silvery colour, perhaps the remainder of a white metal coating.
This brooch, unusual for its completeness, is of a type usually dated to the later second to third centuries a.d., which anticipates the jewelled brooches of Late Antiquity.Footnote 97 While individual aspects of its form are echoed in other brooches, for example the near-square setting or the peripheral settings, no direct parallel could be identified.Footnote 98
ISLE OF WIGHT
(27) Newport (IOW-341935) ( fig. 27).Footnote 99 A late Iron Age to early Roman copper-alloy zoomorphic vessel mount in the form of an ox head. The object is 29 mm high, 24.1 mm wide, 31.3 mm long (from horns to snout), and weighs 26 g. The head is roughly triangular and is oval in cross-section. The horns slope backwards and are circular in cross-section with rounded tips. At the back and on the top of the head are oblique grooves indicating hair, which forms a fringe between the horns. Behind the horns are protruding ears (of different sizes) and, in front, eyes indicated by circular depressions. On the muzzle nostrils are indicated by circular depressions; below these is a horizontal open mouth. On the underside is an integral circular-sectioned shank with a rectangular slot filled with iron. The distance between the iron pin and the back of the ox-head is 4.5 mm.
FIG. 27. Newport, vessel mount in the form of an ox head (No. 27). Scale 1:1. (Photo: F. Basford; © F. Basford)
It is difficult to find a direct parallel for this object among metal vessel fittings. It is likely that the pin completely pierced the wall of a wooden vessel some way beneath the rim and that the iron in the slot could have been part of the handle, which broke below and above the shank that held it.Footnote 100 At the rear, just below the head and above the slot, there is a shallow depression which may have been created by wear. Bovine imagery on vessel fittings of this date is more easily paralleled.Footnote 101
KENT
(28) Denton with Wootton (DOR-1A0981) ( fig. 28).Footnote 102 A second- or third-century copper-alloy and enamel plate brooch of continental origin. It is 38.5 mm long, 28.9 mm wide, and weighs 11.2 g. The brooch is oval with short projections around its outer edge. Within an outer band of reserved metal is a band of isosceles triangles in alternating colours, red and turquoise; the red triangles point outwards and the turquoise towards the centre. This band frames a central motif of a fish in turquoise enamel set against a black enamel background. Details of the fish include the eye, a line also in black at the junction of head and body, and perhaps ventral fins as well as a large triangular tail fin. The pin is hinged and is held on an axis bar through two pierced lugs. This is one of an extremely small group of plate brooches of Ettlinger's Type 48 with six examples known from the North-West provinces, including one from Suffolk (SF-90F327); it is almost identical to a less-well preserved brooch from Vichten (Luxembourg).Footnote 103
FIG. 28. Denton with Wootton, plate brooch with zoomorphic enamel decoration (No. 28). Scale 3:2. (Photo: C. Hayward Trevarthen, © Somerset County Council)
GLOUCESTERSHIRE
(29) Chedworth (GLO-30DC46; 2013 T392) ( fig. 29).Footnote 104 A silver finger-ring of Brancaster type. The ring is 35 mm in diameter and weighs 4.8 g. The face of the square bezel is decorated with the recessed image of a human head and shoulders facing right. The head is most likely stamped with the facial features, perhaps a pointed nose and eye, crudely indicated. The hair and the shoulders are rendered by parallel incised lines. Behind and perhaps above the head are shallow depressions, also part of the decoration. A pitted border runs around the edge of the bezel. On the shoulders of the ring, either side of the bezel, are two zones of zigzag decoration, formed by a double line. These zones are demarcated by transverse lines created by pitting (upper, middle) and incision (lower). The rest of the hoop is plain.
FIG. 29. Chedworth, silver finger-ring (No. 29). Scale 2:1. (Photo: K. Adams; © K. Adams and Bristol City Council)
Rings of this type, which date to the late fourth or early fifth centuries a.d., are rare. An example from Roundway Down, Wilts., provides a close parallel for the Chedworth ring. Other instances include an inscribed ring from Silchester, dedicated to Senicianus, and the ring from Brancaster which gives its name to the series, which bears a double portrait.Footnote 105
SOMERSET
(30) Somerton (SOM-7ED8B2) ( fig. 30).Footnote 106 A copper-alloy zoomorphic plate brooch in the shape of a two-headed sea monster, well preserved with an even green patina, of Feugère's type 29a5.Footnote 107 The brooch is 40.1 mm long, 25.3 mm high, 9.3 mm thick, and weighs 8.3 g. The creature advances to the right, but its head looks backwards towards the tail from which the second head emerges to face it. Protruding from a loop at the rear, which forms the haunch, is a triangular projection, perhaps the tail fin. Small legs emerge from the base of the body. Both heads have small crests and gaping mouths. The front head has a punched eye and a ribbed collar. The smaller head with which the tail terminates has a punched ring-and-dot eye, and the long neck is decorated with stamped crescents to the top of the rear leg. Further small transverse nicks can be found along the base of the brooch and on the top of the triangular projection at the tail. The creature's body carries a curved cell decorated with alternating stripes of red enamel and another colour, now largely lost. The tail fin also contained an enamelled cell with similar colours. On the back is a double D-shaped pin lug just in front of the loop of the tail. This retains a small axis bar and an incomplete hinged pin. A short D-shaped catch-plate survives at the other end of the brooch.
FIG. 30. Somerton, zoomorphic enamelled plate brooch (No. 30). Scale 3:2. (Photo: R. Webley; © R. Webley and Somerset County Council)
This is one of the less common creatures to be represented on a plate brooch (early second to mid-third century a.d. in date). A broken example of this type is illustrated by Hattatt.Footnote 108 Instances have been documented from various findspots in north-west Europe.Footnote 109
