File:3rd century Roman brooch (FindID 70574).jpg

English: Incomplete copper alloy Roman cross bow brooch. The wings of this brooch are semicylindrical, complete but are missing their terminal knobs. Also missing is the third knob that would have risen from the centre of the cross bar. The cross bar holds the remains of the copper alloy pin hinge but the pin shaft is entirely missing. The bow is highly arched and is square in section. The bottom of the bow is decorated with two vertical grooves, but these do not appear to have run up the bow for more than 8mm.Beneath these grooves at the bottom of the bow, before it extends into the straight leg, is a disc shaped flange. The leg of the brooch is straight and faceted with a pentagonal section. The reverse of the leg is heavily grooved and the catchplate curl runs its entire length. The curl itself is complete in length, but not quite complete in width, i.e. the very edge of the curl is missing. The brooch has a brown and bronze patina, but has undergone conservation of some form. The brooch is 53.94mm long, 24.2mm wide across the wings, 4.3mm wide across the bow, 4.76mm thick and weighs 12.32g. This type of brooch with the bow flange is referred to as a ‘lightweight’ crossbow. They were probably made abroad and imported for the higher ranks of society. They date from between 200-250AD, Examples can be seen in Hattatt 1985, figure 55.