ROMAN DRESS ACCESSORIES

Brooches

Five brooches were recovered during the excavation. These fall into three categories; trumpet brooches, Colchester derived brooches and penannular brooches. Three trumpet brooches were recovered from contexts in Trenches 4 and 12. These are summarised below: 416: 59mm long, the head of the bow is large with two circular recesses on either side. The upper body tapers to a central waist moulding which has suffered some corrosion, though a portion of the surviving surface suggests that this was decorated with an interlacing waved line. The lower body tapers gradually to a moulding with rebated collar which may have housed inlaid decoration (now missing). The front of the lower body is decorated with a symmetrical pattern of weaving lines, possibly in a pale yellow enamel, though the condition is now so poor that the surface is difficult to distinguish. The lower half of the pin survives, corroded into the clasp.
Brooch, 416
1202: 54mm long, the head of the bow is large and flattish, with a rebated groove running down the centre to a large central waist knob moulding between two knurled collars. The lower part of the body is unadorned, and tapers to a circular foot which is hollow, indicating that an inlaid decoration is missing. The pin has gone, though a portion of the spring is corroded to the head.
1202 Brooch
Brooch, 1202
1203: 27mm long, only the head of the bow survives, though this is broken in two. The head is small and tapers rapidly to a narrow upper body decorated with two parallel grooves. Towards the waist of the brooch the body starts to taper out again, but is broken off before reaching that point. Part of the spring survives corroded onto the head.
1203 Brooch
Brooch fragment, 1203
A single Colchester-derived ‘dolphin’ brooch was recovered from the spoil in Trench 12 through metal detecting. Though unstratified, this brooch is in good condition. U/S: 40mm long, the wings are short with round cross-section, perforated at either end with a single small hole to receive the spring mechanism (now missing). The bow is humped over the wings and tapers gradually to the foot which ends in a single knob. The upper half of the bow is decorated with two knurled ridges either side of a recessed central groove, with two parallel outer grooves on either side of the body.
12 US brooch
Brooch, Trench 12 unstratified
908: A single iron penannular brooch was recovered from context 908 in Trench 9. Though heavily corroded, the form can be distinguished. The diameter is 42mm, and the pin corroded to one of two ball-shaped terminals. The corrosion is too severe to determine the cross sectional shape of the brooch or to identify any surface decoration.
908 Brooch
Brooch, 908

Glass Beads

Three decorative glass beads were recovered from Trenches 4 and 12. The first of these is a faiance melon bead from context 419 in Trench 4. 28mm in diameter, this has lost its original vitrified outer surface, though the colour and finish is still visible running through the bead. These beads were common in the 1st and 2nd centuries, tending towards the 1st century on military sites.
Bead 419
Faiance bead, 419 
A small melon bead of dark-blue glass, 16mm in diameter, was recovered from ditch 1215 in Trench 12. Hoffmann notes that such beads are less common than frit melon beads, but that both types are common on 1st-early 2nd century military sites (particularly associated with horse harness), with reduced numbers in the later second century onwards. (www.theromangaskproject.org.uk/Pages/Introduction/RomanGlass.html; accessed 08.05.08).
1215 bead
Melon bead, 1215
The third bead was a small, faceted cylindrical bead in green glass recovered from midden deposit 1217 in Trench 12, measuring 11mm long x 6mm wide. A parallel for this bead was found at Segontium Roman Fort (Allen 1993, 219; no. 53, SF864) from a Period 9 context (early-mid 4th century). Although such types cannot be closely dated, Allen notes that most of the beads on that site were found in late contexts with the exception of the melon beads.
bead 1217
Faceted bead, 1217

Copper Alloy Hair Pin

The head and upper shaft of a copper alloy hair pin was recovered from context 912 in Trench 9 (Phase 7). The pin head is globular in form and 10mm in diameter. The shaft of the pin is broken off 11mm below the head. 
Pin 912
Hair pin, 912