Casgliadau Arlein

A near complete copper alloy brooch of Polden Hill type and 1st century AD date.

The Polden Hill type brooch is near complete, only missing the foot, catch and end of the pin. It is undecorated with a spring mechanism wound around a bar.

The brooch can be closely paralleled with four other examples recovered during the Whitton Villa excavations (Webster, 1981, p.165-9, nos. 6-7). They were identified as Hull's Light Polden Type. The presence of this form in a significant grouping suggest they were produced locally.

There are scratches on one side of the catch plate defining a crude latice pattern but appear to cut through the patina and are likely to be post-depositional. The surface has a mid-green patina with areas of surface loss and blue azurite corrosion deposits.

The spring mechanism is secured around a copper alloy axis bar, held in position by lateral lugs and a rearward hook to tension the cord. The bow peojects forward from the head before turning downwards. The bow is of rounded sub-rectangular cross-section, with straight sides converging towards the missing foot. The top of the catch-plate is evident before the break abd tge catch-plate begins as wide as the leg.