Copper alloy and enamel brooch. Dragonesque decorative design cfs7381 xrf leaded gunmetal. From VR72-80, Victoria Road, Winchester, Hampshire. Excavated by Winchester Archaeology Section, 1972-1980.

Copper alloy and enamel brooch. Dragonesque decorative design cfs7381 xrf leaded gunmetal. From VR72-80, Victoria Road, Winchester, Hampshire. Excavated by Winchester Archaeology Section, 1972-1980.

Enamelled dragon shaped brooches

Roman, about AD 70-120

Found during excavations by Winchester Museums Service Archaeology Section at Victoria Road, Winchester in the mid- to late 1970s

This pair of leaded gunmetal brooches, enamelled in the shape of a dragon, came from a cremation burial in the cemetery outside Roman Winchester's north gate. The person in the grave was also accompanied by 22 pots and possibly part of a bone gaming set that had been burnt on the funeral pyre. In life, they probably wore the brooches pinned on each shoulder and joined across the chest by a chain.

Most dragonesque brooches have been found in northern England, in what was then the tribal territory of the Parisi and the Brigantes. These might have arrived in Winchester through trade, but it is possible that the person buried in the grave came from there or was connected with someone who did. The richness of the grave goods and the celtic style of the brooches suggest that this was an important person, but probably not a Roman. Because they had been cremated, it was not possible to tell their age and sex, and brooches were worn as clothing fasteners by both men and women in Roman Britain.

Copper alloy and enamel brooch. Dragonesque decorative design cfs7381 xrf leaded gunmetal. From VR72-80, Victoria Road, Winchester, Hampshire. Excavated by Winchester Archaeology Section, 1972-1980.