File:Roman zoomorphic plate brooch (incomplete) (FindID 576103).jpg

English: A copper-alloy zoomorphic plate brooch with enamelled decoration, dating from the Roman period.

The brooch takes the form of a three-dimensional representation of a bird in flight. The body, tail and wings are flat-surfaced and of roughly equal thickness throughout. The tail is sub-trapezoidal, its concave sides extending smoothly into the parallel-sided body. An 'L-shaped' wing juts outwards on either side of the front end of the body. The back of the neck gradually thickens from the tail end before angling upwards more sharply at the front. A forward projection at the apex of the neck represents either a stylised head or the remnant of a larger one. The surface decoration consists of four enamelled settings. Two equal-sized triangular settings, located side by side, occupy the tail area, each containing a red enamel field overlain by a subcircular, white enamel inset. The shape of each wing setting mirrors that of the wing itself, having four straight sides and tapering towards the distal end. On both wings, there is a field of red enamel, with a subcircular, white inset at the wider end and a sub-oval, blue setting towards the narrower end. In addition to the enamel, there is a transverse groove at the back end of the tail and one near the tip of each wing; a pair of such grooves also separates the tail from the body. A zigzagged incision extends along the surface of the body and on to the upper surface of the neck, creating the impression of feathers, while traces of a white metal coating are also visible at various points on the upper surface of the brooch. A chain-loop, worn through on one side, projects backwards from the distal end of the tail. The damaged hinge is located beneath the tail and comprises two right-angled lugs, each with a perforation for the now-missing axis bar and separated from one another by a gap. The catchplate, which takes the form of a single right-angled projection, is located on the underside of the neck; its curved upper side is missing.

Length: 31.8mm; width: 17.8mm; height: 13.5mm; weight: 6.02g.

Close parallels for this brooch include four examples illustrated by Hattatt (2000: fig. 220, nos. 1150, 1151, 1152 and 625), and PAS records LANCUM-1A6A65, LIN-DD9166 and HAMP-10DC27. The suggested date for brooches of this form is 2nd century AD.