Colchester Archaeological Report 2: The Roman small finds

Britain by the army of conquest, which appears to
have abandoned both Aucissa and Hod Hill brooches
as standard wear c 60/5 in favour of British-made
brooches.
b) with a stout rib down the centre of the broad flat
bow
19 Fig 5 SF BKC 3397(C), J223. Periods 2-5b. Length 53.5 mm.
A well-preserved brooch, complete except for parts of the
axial bar of the hinge and a fragment of the catchplate. The
foot has been twisted to one side and broken. The head has
two knurled cross-bands and the central rib of the bow
shows traces of knurling. There are slight marginal
mouldings on the bow. The junction of bow and foot is
marked by three cross-mouldings and the upper part of the
foot is of angular D-section. There is a large foot-knob.
Type 60. The simplest and commonest of the Hod
Hill series. Hod Hill brooches have a similar hinge
arrangement to that of Aucissae, but the head, often
undecorated, is short and flat with a narrow neck. The
curve of the bow is gentle and there is no sharp angle
between the bow and the foot, which takes up
approximately half the length of the brooch. There is
usually a foot-knob. The decoration of these brooches
shows great variety and provides a basis for
subdividing the series. Because many surviving
examples are coated with white metal, it is possible
that all were. Though originating on the Continent in
the second half of the 1st century BC, Hod Hill
brooches probably only arrived in Britain with the
army in 43 and went out of use c 60/5. Their absence
from York (North Yorkshire) or any Agricolan site
probably implies that any found in post-Neronian
levels on sites in the south and midlands are either
survivals or, most likely on urban sites, residual.
23 Fig 5 SF BKC 5237(C), V39. c 300 at latest. Length 39.5 mm.
A well-preserved example, only the pin is missing. The bow
has plain marginal mouldings and two knurled ridges. There
are traces of white metal on the foot. The catchplate is solid.
Type 61. Brooches of Hod Hill type with lateral lugs
at the base of the bow.
25 Fig 5 SF LWC 1130(C), B567. Period 4 at latest. Length
64.5mm. A large brooch with traces of white metal on bow
and foot, the bow is decorated with longitudinal mouldings
and a central wavy line between knurled mouldings. The
knobbed lugs are small, one is damaged. There is a crossmoulding
at the junction of bow and head, and pronounced
cross-mouldings at the junction of bow and foot. There is a
single circular perforation in the damaged catchplate. The
pin is missing.
28 Fig 5 SF BKC 5720(C), V1042 L64. Dump. Period 4. Length
43.5 mm. Fragment of a large corroded brooch. Most of the
foot with the catchplate is missing and the pin has been
broken off. One or both of the lugs are damaged. There is a
transverse moulding between head and bow. There are
traces of longitudinal mouldings on the bow and lugs, which
are parallel-sided and may have had terminal knobs. There
are stepped cross-mouldings at the junction of bow and foot.
Type 62. Brooches of Hod Hill type with lateral lugs
set in the middle of each side of the bow.
29 Fig 5 SF BKC 2943(C), J15 L1. Site clearance. Length
65.0mm. A large brooch with the lugs slightly above the
middle of each side. The bow has been flattened and the pin
is broken. The catchplate is solid. The bow is parallel-sided
and decorated with marginal mouldings and three central
mouldings: the two outer ones finely knurled, the inner one
with diagonal slashing. The lugs have traces of worn
terminal knobs. The margins of the foot are slightly grooved.
30 Fig 5 SF COC 187(C), 860 L251. Dump. Period 3. Length
45.5 mm. An almost complete brooch. Part of the catchplate
10
part of the hinge, and the pin are missing, though most of the
iron axial bar survives. There are transverse mouldings on
the head, and one at both the junction of bow and foot and
above the foot-knob. The short bow has two ridges at each
side. The lugs have worn terminal knobs. The catchplate is
solid.
Type 63. Brooches of Hod Hill type with lateral lugs
at the top of the bow.
32 Fig 5 SF COC 149(C), 695 L201. Dump. Period 4. Length
49.5mm. An almost complete brooch. The pin, one lug and
part of the hinge are missing. The solid catchplate is chipped
and distorted. The bow has knurled marginal mouldings and
a broad central ridge. The surviving lug is moulded and
knobbed. There are several transverse mouldings on the foot
and one on the head. There are traces of white metal on the
bow.
Type 71. Brooches of Hod Hill type with narrow
bow and with bold cross-mouldings at head and
base of bow.
33 Fig 5 SF BKC 1951(C), El 247. Unstratifed. Roman to
modern. Length 23.0mm. A fragment of the bow and the
head with traces of white-metal coating. There are three
thick cross-mouldings on the bow.
34 Fig 5 SF BKC 5121(C), V187. Periods 2 to 4? Length
44.0mm. A corroded brooch. The hinge and the pin are
missing. There are cross-mouldings at the top of the bow,
two of them knurled. The centre of the bow has a slight
platform and there is a single cross-moulding at the junction
of bow and foot.
Type 79+. Miscellaneous brooches of Hod Hill type.
35 Fig 5 SF BKC 5326(C), V598 F8/F130. Ditch. Period 4.
Length 58.0mm. A small brooch, complete except for the
axial bar of the hinge. The D-section bow expands towards
the junction with the foot and has four crescentic
depressions filled with niello on each side. There are two
stepped transverse mouldings between bow and foot.
Similar brooches come from Ixworth, Suffolk (Corp 3947)
and Nettle-ton, Wiltshire {Corp 8063).
Type 80. Brooches with tapering bow, a slight
offset at the button and a terminal knob. Only two
others are known from Britain, one unprovenanced,
in the Colchester and Essex Museum (CM 143. 47 1,
Corp 0508) 3
and an unstratified one from
Richborough, Kent {Corp 1771; Hull 1949, fig 27, 22).
On the evidence of two from the Continent (ibid, 112)
and of the example published here, the suggested
date range is Claudian-Flavian.
36 Fig 5 SF BKC 5376(C), V504 L67. Make-up. Period 2. Length
39.5 mm. Two pieces of a corroded brooch, complete except
that the pin is broken off below the hinge and the catchplate
is damaged. The bow forms a right angle with the head and
is decorated with a serpentine groove filled with niello, with
dots in the curves. The plain tapering foot is stepped back
from the bow. This is an exact parallel to the unprovenanced
brooch from Colchester cited above.
Group 5: Early sprung brooches (Figs 6 and
7; 37-61)
Type 84. Almgren's 'strongly-profiled' brooch.
This type is rare in Britain with a distribution centred
on Richborough and London. It appears to be an early
military import. Date range: c 43 to the end of the 1st
century.
37 Fig 6 SF BKC 3745(C), J492. Burnt sand deposit. Period 2.
Length 49.0 mm. A beautifully preserved one-piece brooch,
only the tip of the pin is missing. The bow is markedly arched
with a pronounced button which is slightly flattened at the
back. The broad head narrows to a neck before widening