Colchester Archaeological Report 2: The Roman small finds

ow has knurled marginal grooves and three cuts across
the foot. This brooch has the distinctive glossy grey-green
patina noted by Hull on several derivatives.
c) with round section or wire bow
2 Fig 2 SF BKC 4057(C), N16 LI. Topsoil. Modern. Length
41.0mm. Brooch with three-turn spring. The end of the
catchplate and the tip of the pin have been broken off. There
is only a hint of a reverse curve to the bow.
Type 11. Nauheim Derivatives with a single curve
to the bow. The date range is similar to that of Type
10.
a) with wide flat bow
4 Fig 2 SF BKC 5486(C), V658 L11. Dump. Late Period 5.
Length 43.5 mm. A flattened bow fragment with the remains
of the corroded catchplate and the beginning of the spring.
The bow has grooved margins which terminate at two crossgrooves
near the foot. As this fragment has been flattened it
may possibly belong to Type 10a, though this is unlikely.
b) with narrower flat bow
5 Fig 2 SF BKC 2240(C), G177 F61. Clay and timber-lined pit.
Period 5b. Length 26.0mm. A distorted but complete brooch
with three-turn spring. The bow is rectangular in section.
The catchplate is very rudimentary.
6 Fig 2 SF BKC 2953(C), J28 L1. Site clearance. Length
28.0mm. A fragment of a D-section bow with two turns of
the spring.
c) with round or wire bow
9 Fig 2 SF BUC 98(C), A484 G35. Grave fill. Period 2. Length
26.0 mm. A distorted but complete wire brooch with threeturn
spring. There are traces of white-metal coating on the
catchplate.
Type 19. One-piece brooch with a bold angle near
the head and a button placed on or near this angle.
The distribution of this type is almost entirely south of
the Thames, though two were found on the Sheepen
site, Colchester (CM 34/18, Corp 0249; CM 34/22,
Corp 0248). Date range: first half of the 1st century.
16 Fig 2 SF LWC 2190(C), J247 F119. Early medieval robber
trench. Length 49.0mm. Most of the bow survives with a
hint of the open catchplate. Below the prominent button
with its flanking mouldings the bow section is
elliptical, above it is D-shaped. A similar example comes
from Maiden Castle, Dorset (Wheeler 1943, fig 83, 9, Corp
2091) in a deposit dated 25-70.
Group 2:Brooches with cylindrical springcover
(Fig 3; 17)
Type 27. Simple rosette brooch with applied
moulded plate. The type is possibly a pre-conquest
import, being found mainly in the oppida. It seems to
have gone out of use by the end of the Claudian
period. Date range: pre-conquest to c 50.
17 Fig 3 SF BKC 4552(C), T130 L34. Destruction debris or
make-up. Period 3? Length 69.5mm. A corroded and
damaged brooch. One side of the spring-cover has been
crushed, exposing the spring, and the rosette on the same
side has been broken. Part of the foot is missing and only
fragments of half the pin remain. The applied upper plate of
the rosette has concentric circular mouldings and is
attached to the main body of the brooch by a central iron
rivet. The catchplate has a single triangular perforation.
Group 4a: Eye-brooches (Fig 4; 18)
Type 43. Debased eye-brooches, with loose bowcurve,
the button halfway down the bow and the
shape of the foot uncertain. The distribution of this
type covers the south and midlands. Date range:
Claudian-Neronian.
8
Fig 3 Bow brooches: Group 2 (1:1)
1cm
18 Fig 4 SF LWC 1217(C), D56 F38. Large posthole. Postmedieval.
A brooch in three fragments, length 44.0mm.The
pin and part of the spring are missing. The catch has been
broken off. The spring has six turns, and the external chord is
held down by a small forward hook. The side-wings are tiny.
The narrow bow is plain, of D-section, and has a gentle curve
from the head to the button, which is represented by a single
transverse moulding. The foot is plain, with a slight reverse
curve and tapers slightly to a blunt end. The catchplate is
• solid.
Fig 4 Bow brooches: Group 4a (1:1)
Group 4b: Early hinged brooches (Fig 5; 19-
36)
Type 51. Aucissa brooch. Brooches in this series
have a broad flat bow arched to a semicircle and
decorated with longitudinal mouldings. The flat head
is broader than the bow and carries transverse
mouldings and a pair of lateral notches; sometimes
also a pair of stamped eyes. The head is rolled over
upwards to hold an axial bar, often of iron with bronze
terminal knobs, on which the pin is hinged. The
knobbed foot is short and returned sharply from the
bow. The junction of bow and foot can be marked by
transverse mouldings. Aucissa brooches are so called
because of the maker's name sometimes found
inscribed across the head. A positive centre of origin
for these brooches, which covered the whole Roman
world during their life, is not proven. Generally dated
Augustus-Nero, they were probably introduced into