Now on ScienceBlogs: The 1/6th People

Seed Media Group

Collective Imagination

Aardvarchaeology

Another Funny Brooch

It doesn't look much like anything Scandinavian from the period 400-1100.

« Tech Note: Help Me Choose a Smartphone | Main | And It Went Wherever I Did Go »

Another Funny Brooch

Category: ArchaeologySweden
Posted on: April 16, 2008 9:21 AM, by Martin R

P1000135lores.jpg

Here's a funny little guy from our site in Kaga. It's a crumpled-up disc-brooch, about 75% complete, original diameter 71 mm, copper-alloy pin extant and folded into the brooch, pin-catch extant on back, apparently soldered on.

P1000134lores.jpg

On the surface of the brooch are a central large boss with mock-filigree, surrounded by five identical ones, and outside those five are another five smaller bosses. All in all eleven bosses. The surface of the brooch is divided into petal-like fields by lines of tiny bumps. All decoration is visible on the back side too: most of the piece is just 0.6 mm thick.

I really wonder about this baby. Judging from the rest of the finds on-site, it's likely to date from after AD 400. But it doesn't look much like anything Scandinavian from the period 400-1100. (During this period, Scandy brooch pins are almost exclusively iron.) It does look a bit like a cheap version of a Kentish 6th century cloisonné brooch. So my guess is that this piece is either

  • English/Frankish 400-1100,
  • Scandy 1100-1500, or
  • Continental 1100-1500.

Anybody able to help?

Share this: Stumbleupon Reddit Email + More

Comments

1

Martin,
I've looked through our database and found very few examples that match your brooch. There's this cloissone one:
http://www.findsdatabase.org.uk/hms/pas_obj.php?type=finds&id=0013EA1612001250#a0013EA1612001250
which has a slight similarity. The ring and dot does indeed suggest that it fits the Early Medieval date, but it doesn't look like one of our typical cloissone examples. So I wonder if this is more likely to be a crushed saucer brooch? Have a look through these and see if you can see any matches:
http://www.findsdatabase.org.uk/search/index.php?loadsearch=1064#a1064
Regards,
Dan

Posted by: Dan | April 16, 2008 11:36 AM

2

Good to see you found a use for that measuring stick (or whatever the official name for that thing is)!

Posted by: paddy | April 17, 2008 3:10 AM

3

Holy sh... I don't even remember when my hands looked that "un-excavating-stuff"-ish. They're permanently messed up now, and my nails...well, let's not even go there.
Oh, nice find, too!!

Posted by: Christina | April 18, 2008 12:44 AM

4

Thanks Dan! Looks like we can rule out the English connection.

Christina, have you considered wearing protective gloves?

Posted by: Martin R | April 19, 2008 4:03 AM

5

See what I meant about context?
Okey, maybe it was a plowzone find, but getting it out of an ex u would be so much better.

I got to go. Glad you are up to so much and haven't yet sold your soul to get a real job. And about getting your licks in on Bad Bob. Take it easy.

Posted by: M E Starr | July 12, 2008 7:05 PM

6

Thanks Mary! Always great to read your comments.

Posted by: Martin R | July 13, 2008 1:44 AM

Post a Comment

(Email is required for authentication purposes only. On some blogs, comments are moderated for spam, so your comment may not appear immediately.)





eXTReMe Tracker

ScienceBlogs

Search ScienceBlogs:

Go to:

Advertisement
Enter to win a free copy of The Monty Hall Problem
Visit the Collective Imagination blog
Advertisement
Collective Imagination

© 2006-2009 Seed Media Group LLC. ScienceBlogs is a registered trademark of Seed Media Group. All rights reserved.

Sites by Seed Media Group: Seed Media Group | ScienceBlogs | SEEDMAGAZINE.COM