File:Dragonesque brooch fragment (FindID 588887).jpg

A small fragment of a copper alloy dragonesque brooch dating from the Roman period (AD 75 - AD 175).

Only one terminal of the brooch survives, a 'head' which is curvilinear in form with an open beak-like mouth and large upright ear. It is decorated with an eye-shaped moulding and a moulded circle-and-central-dot: the circle with a pellet inside which forms the eye, and the eye-shaped moulding forms part of the 'ear'. These would originally have been filled completely with blue enamel (a little of which survives in the centre of eye and the ear), as well as the inner part of the 'ear' which is concave. The other end of the brooch (the 'neck') terminates in a worn break. The reverse is undecorated and flat, except under the 'ear' where it is slightly concave.

The metal has a dark green and uneven patina. The circle decorations are a mix of light brown and cream, probably from traces of yellow enamel.

Many dragonesque brooches have been recorded on the PAS database e.g. <a href="https://finds.org.uk/database/artefacts/record/id/584152" title="View details for DUR-7C7147">DUR-7C7147</a>. Examples with upright 'ears' are also illustrated in Hattatt, p. 157, fig. 67.

Reference:
Hattatt, R., 1982 <a href="https://finds.org.uk/database/publications/publication/id/153" title="View reference work's details">Ancient and Romano-British brooches</a> Sherborne : Dorset Publishing.