Brooches
AshAll illustrations by Aisling Tuohy
Brooches are a very common in Britain both before and after the Roman invasion of Britain. They are very important in types of functionality as they are principally used to fasten various items of clothing for both men and women. The number of brooches that have been found in Britain, both as stray finds and as part of excavations, is vast. The majority of these brooches are copper alloy (bronze) and the numbers known in gold and silver are comparatively rare. However, some brooches have been decorated using gliding, sliver-plating and tin-plating. Enamelling has also been found on certain types of brooches.
Most of the illustrations are drawn from photographs of original artefacts therefore, in those drawings where the pins are not visible, this is because they have not survived.
Fibulae
One of the earliest forms of brooches is
the fibula. This style is quite common right from the Bronze Age through to the
Roman period. Three distinct forms develop during this long period of use; La
Tene I, II and III. La Tene III becomes fashionable in the 1st century BC and
continues into the early Roman period. Therefore, this is the form of fibula
which most applies to our period. The fibula is commonly thought of a 'safety pin', principally used as a fastener for clothing. They seem to be worn at an oblique angle with the 'head' of the brooch facing downwards.The functionality of these brooches appears to matter more than any decorative elements although there are numerous decorative styles known in Britain and on the Continent by the 1st century AD (Johns 1996).
Many of these brooches were made from iron, a material that was seldom used for brooches after the 1st century AD.
Penannular Brooches
Penannular brooches are another common type of brooch
in the Iron Age and Roman periods, indeed, this style of brooch continues right
through into the early medieval period. The penannular is a relatively simple form of brooch which operates by pushing the pin through the cloth and 'locking' it against the terminals. Early penannulars offer very little scope for decoration as the terminals tend to be either curled or 'balled'. Major decoration of these brooches does not occur until the early medieval period when the terminals become more flattened.
Rosette or Thistle brooch
This style of brooch is a continental form that was in
limited use during the middle of the 1st century. The style represents a
departure from the more simple forms such as the penannular or La Tene III
fibulae. It is a form that is clearly designed to be seen therefore, the
decoration is equally important as functionality.This style of brooch consisted of a disc plate being added to the bow. All the frontal parts of the brooch are decorated using ribbed mouldings and incised detailing (Johns 1996). Some examples of this type have the name of the manufacturer stamped on them.
Aesica brooches
This type is
regarded as a more 'Celticised' version of the Rosette brooch. The form is
named after a hoard which was found in 1894 at Great Chesters, Northumberland,
Aesica being the Latin name for this site (Johns 1996). The decoration on these types of brooches consists more of curvilinear patterns rather than ribbed mouldings.
Aucissa brooch
The Aucissa form
is an early form of hinged brooch. It consists of a flattened, high arched bow
with a long foot terminating in a large knob. The bow is decorated using ribs
and other details (Johns 1996). This form is so called due to the fact that the
makers name (Aucissa) is often found inscribed on the head (Crummy 1983).
This type of brooch is common throughout the Roman world and was introduced to Britain with the Roman army. They seem to go out of fashion with the army along with the Hod Hill style brooches around 60/5 AD (Crummy 1983).
Two piece Colchester brooch
The one and two piece
Colchester brooches seem to have developed along different lines to that of the
fibulae. The two piece brooch has a separate spring and pin and has a date
range of between 50and 80 AD. Many derivatives from this form exist including
dolphin, headstud and T-shaped brooches. Dolphin (Polden Hill) brooch
The Polden Hill style is a local variant of the dolphin brooch which is itself, a derivative of the two piece Colchester. In this example, the