File:Bird Brooch (FindID 79986-42253).jpg

English: A cast copper alloy zoomorphic bird brooch, with engraved decoration and an iron spring. The bird appears to be a dove. The bird brooch comprises of a number of piece. Firstly, the shape of the bird has been made from a flat plate of copper alloy, which has been wrought into the shape of a dove. The bird’s body is narrow and elongated; it has a triangular tail and triangular shaped wings. The bird’s head is raised up from the body, complete with a beck. The head is slightly out of alignment. The bird has been decorated with engraved motifs. Either side of the bird’s head are its eyes, which have been made from two concentric engraved rings. Around the birds neck there is a double collar. A double cross has been engraved onto the bird’s back, diagonally from top of the wings to the bottom of the opposite wing. The wings themselves have also been decorated with three ring and dot designs. One of the wings has lost its tip the other has lost about 40% of the wing tip. Where the body meets the tail there three raised collars. On the tail itself there are also three ring and dot motifs. The tips of the tail have also been broken off. From beck to tail the bird measures 38.8mm and from wing to wing the bird measures 17.8mm.
The reverse of the bird is undecorated. Secondly, the catchplate expends down below the bird’s chest, it is about 10.6mm long and survive in full. Thirdly, expanding down from behind the three collars on the tail is a strip of cooper alloy, which holds the spring in place (it is about 12.9mm long). The strip appears to have a hole in it, through which an iron spring passes. It is impossible to see how many turns the spring has, as the iron is very corroded. There is a small iron projection coming away from the spring; this is all that remains of the pin.
The plate of cooper alloy, which forms the bird, is only 3.3mm thick, at the thickest point. The bird is in an extremely good condition; even with it’s broken wings and tail. The breaks all look quite worn. The metal has a mid brownish-green patina. This type of brooch dates to the 2nd century AD.