In August of 2022 I went on a dig with a group called “Mid Week Searchers.” If you click on their name, you can see that they recently started an Instagram page showing some of the objects members have found on their digs. In August of 2022, I was lucky enough to find a little Roman brooch (click on the images above to see larger versions). I sent photos of it and other information to the Portable Antiquities Scheme. The Finds Liaison Officer who recorded it described the brooch like this:
A Roman copper alloy Colchester derivative, double pierced lug, Harlow type brooch dating to 43-70 AD. This has a double pieced lug on the rear of the head that holds the spring and external cord (the spring is made from 8 curls and the pin is complete). The wings have an undecorated convex face, but the front of the bow is decorated with a central ridge that runs its length and forms a crest at the top of the bow. The catch plate on the reverse is complete.
Wiltshire
It’s a funny feeling to suddenly see something like this turn up in a clod of soil. It’s such a personal item. One day, probably in the 1st century, someone used it to fasten their cloak, or hold back a fold in their tunic, and set about their day. As they walked along the field in the photo above, perhaps it caught on a hedge or just became unfastened, and was torn from their clothing. You can still see how the pin bent as it caught. It fell to the ground, and there it lay there, being tossed about by the plow until 2022.
In addition to being moved by the personal aspect of the brooch, I’m fascinated that it’s still complete and you can see the mechanism that gave the brooch its spring. It’s a single piece of metal that makes the point, curls around a pin, goes through a hole on the back and then wraps around the pin on the other side. You can also still see a faint reminder of the cross-hatch pattern that ran down its back.
As moving as it is to imagine the person who wore this brooch for the last time, it’s also something to think about the craftsperson who made it. Was it crafted in Britain, or brought here by the Romans who invaded and conquered the island less than 30 years earlier? Amazingly, the pin still flexes, though I don’t dare try to move it all the way down to the catch.