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PAS Finds: week to 4 February 2022

PAS Finds: week to 4 February 2022

My selection of the detecting finds recorded at the PAS in the week to 4 February 2022.

Featured Find

Roman millefiori decorated brooch

Photo: The Portable Antiquities Scheme CC By SA2.0
Object type: Brooch
Period: Roman
Primary material: Copper alloy
Date found: 26/05/2021
Location: County Durham

An enamelled Roman brooch dating to AD100 – 200 that is considered a Find of Note of National Importance. The brooch has a band of enamel decoration of alternating green and millefiori material.

Millefiori

The term millefiori (“thousand flowers”) was first used to refer to glass of the Italian Renaissance but the technique is an ancient one. Modern craftsmen have attempted to imitate the technique and in the 1959 issue of Archaeology, Frederic Schuler outlined his suggestion of tesserae being cut to size, placed together in a mould and then fused together by heat. There is a final step of rotary grinding which may reduce the thickness by up to half.

There are some examples of this millefiori decoration on the PAS database but it is less common in Britain than in Continental provinces. A piece of millefiori was found in a purse at Sutton Hoo.

Selection of other finds

Photo: National Museums Liverpool CC By SA4.0

Inkwell

A complete lead inkwell probably dating to the post medieval period; AD 1600-1800.
Photo: The Portable Antiquities Scheme CC By 2.0

Iron Age potin

Although found in 1993, this Gaulish bronze unit or “potin” has only recently been recorded at the PAS. It is considered a Find of Note: National Importance.
Photo: Sussex Archaeological Society CC By SA2.0

Roman “recycled”finger ring

A ring, dating to AD 200-410, that appears to be a bracelet terminal that has been crudely converted into a ring. It is thought that the motif may represent an eye of a snake. It is a Find of Note: County Importance
Photo: The Portable Antiquities Scheme CC By 2.0

Iron Age Ox-head mount

A mount in the form of an ox-head, probably a vessel escutcheon, from the late Iron Age. The meaning behind the ox head is the subject of debate; either literal for a milking pail or of religious/spiritual significance.
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