Casgliadau Arlein

A small bronze bell, quadrangular in shape. The associated material found within the bell contains very fragmentary remains of part of the clapper and its means of attachment. Bells such as this may have served the same function as cowbells today or they may have served on horse harness or part of tintinnabula to ward off evil spirits.The Caerleon bell has a small rectangular hole at the top of the bell, underneath the suspension loop; it perhaps represents a means of replacing the clapper after the original means was damaged; a piece of wire passed through a loop at the top of the clapper and emerging through a hole at the top of the bell would provide an adequate alternative fastening.