Another plate brooch

[probono]

Hi All

went to the usual place yesterday, but not with particularly high hopes as I haven't had a roman off there for a few weeks now.

Just after my missus phoned me to ask me why I wasn't home yet..... I found a roman plate brooch - the third (all different) from this site.

This one has some gilding on it and according to the newest book on brooches this is part of the 'gilded' series with dating to late 2nd to mid 3rd century AD. Maybe Chef could let me know the Hattatt number as I don't have Hattatt.

Apparenty they are quite rare in Wales; given that three plate brooches have turned up in this field, I can imagine a travelling salesman turning up on his hols and making a few quid selling brooches to the natives

[Chef Geoff]

Well done Probono and not only rare in Wales but also the west of Britain, I presume the centre is concave? if so then it's a Hattatt 1218, though I'd need a side profile pic to be sure.
The centre would probably once of held an intaglio so not a cheap brooch either.
As you have 3 from the same site you definately have someone with money living there, also someone who probably has contact with Rome itself.
By the mid to late 2nd century "Pax Romana" was, as far as Britain was concerned, in full effect. this meant a more stable government and permanent military presence, this was in contrast with the 60 years following the conquest which would have seen greater comings and goings of both army units and diplomats on an almost daily basis and with these new arrivals so came the latest fashions. But as governance became more centralised, contact with Rome for the regions were via London Or York, by which time any trace of the current fashion had been lost.
In Somerset for instance there are very few brooches that can be reliably dated after around 120 AD because this part of Britannia was settled very early on with no military presence to speak of. Compare this with Eastern Britain that has daily contact with traders from Gaul and mainland Roman Europe and this is reflected in healthy brooch finds spanning right through the Roman occupation.
So as with Roman silver coins, where the army goes so too does the latest fashions.