Anglo-Saxon pin head

Photo: The Portable Antiquities Scheme CC By 2.0
Object type: Pin
Period: Anglo-Saxon
Primary material: Copper alloy
Date found: 21/03/2022
Location: Dover, kent

Description

This is thought to be the disc from a disc headed pin, dating to AD 720 – 800. It has been designated a Find of Note: Regional importance. The fashion in the late eight century was for showy dress pins, linked together in sets of two or three. The most spectacular example of is a linked triple pin set from the river Witham, Lincolnshire.

Witham pins

Witham Pins
, Photo: British Museum CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

The Witham pins were found during the dry summer of 1826 when works to improve the navigation of the river Witham were being undertaken.