• Metal detecting holidays in England with the World's most successful metal detecting club.20 years plus.

    Twinned with Midwest Historical Research Society USA.

     

  • Roman jewelry - Rings, brooches, pendants etc

     

    Roman gold coins click here

    Roman BC silver coins click here

    Roman AD silver coins click here

    More Roman artifacts click here

    4thC Roman gold ring with green stone found by Mass Bill on display at Colchester museum

     

     

     

    Roman gold ring -decorated with hanging fruit and vine - reported as treasure to museum

    1.46g, 24.49mm

    1st to 4thC Roman decorated gold ring with green stone - reported to Colchster museum as treasure

    20.01mm,1.43g

     

     

    Roman or Saxon solid gold hanging pendant ? - 2.65g, 11.95mm H x 10.68mm dia x 11.68mm W - still awaiting British Museums curators report

    Stunning 2nd C Roman enameled Trumpet headed fibular brooch - Hattatt Page 329 Fig 188, 449

     

    Stunning 2ndC Roman enamelled plate brooch

    2nd C Roman plate brooch - 27.39mm H x 21.16mm W

    Roman (2nd century AD) cast copper alloy plate brooch. The brooch consists of a small flat rectangular plate (21.1mm by 14.17mm) with two rounded knops projecting from each long edge. The pin and hinge are missing. The front of the plate is decorated with four lozenges, each punched with a hole in the centre. Eight triangular cells created by the four lozenges do not contain any enamel. The reverse is plain. There is no catchplate but the reverse side of one of the knops has two damaged lugs for the missing hinged pin. The weight of the brooch is 4.14g. The colour of the brooch is light brown. No exact parallel could be found, however similar examples can be seen in Hattatt visual catalogue page 352 figure 211.
    Roman bronze winged Phallus pendant 27.87 - 49.02mm L found by Cal Jeff
    Roman 2nd c. brooch derivative 'T' shaped tapering
    1stC AD Roman fibula brooch
    AD 50 Colchester type T shape dolphin brooch
    Dress fastener is 1/2nd century AD- Romano British a variant 29
    Hattatt
    AD 50 Colchester type T shape dolphin brooch
    Roman fibular brooch casting fault
    AD 50 Colchester type T shape dolphin brooch
    Roman period ring
    2ndC Roman trumpet brooch
    2ndC Roman bronze disc brooch

    Legio XIX was a Roman legion levied (drafted into military service) in 41 or 40 BC by Augustus. They were destroyed in AD 9 in the Battle of the Teutoburg Forest. The emblem of the XIX th legion is unknown, but probably was the Capricorn as other legions levied by Augustus.

    The first assignment was in Sicily where Sextus Pompeius, son of Pompey, was still rebelling. This revolt put Rome's grain supply in peril and it needed a harsh response.

    In 30 BC, veterans of the XIX legion were settled near Pisa, and after that, the rest of the legion was allocated in the Rhine frontier with base camp at Cologne. The XIX legion participated in the German Campaigns of Drusus (13 to 9 BC) and Tiberius (8 to 5 BC). By the year 5 BC Germania was a Roman province and Publius Quintilius Varus was assigned as governor.

    In September AD 9, Arminius, leader of the Cherusci and a Roman ally, set a trap. He reported a major revolt of one of the western tribes and suggested the return of both governor and his legions to the Rhine. Varus accepted the suggestion and went with the XVII, XVIII and XIX legions. The army was trapped near Osnabrück and was completely destroyed in the Battle of the Teutoburg Forest. Between 16 and 18, Germanicus, the leader of the Rhine armies, looked for the remains of the legions. His army buried the bodies and recovered the legions' eagles for Rome.

    1st C BC/AD Roman La Tene fibula brooch
    Roman fibular brooch casting fault
    1stC decorated Roman brooch, bow and foot only
    1st to 4thC Roman bronze seal ring
    1st C Roman fibula brooch - Colchester type
    Very unusual type 2ndC Roman head stud type bronze brooch 6.83g - 38.02mmL
    Early plain bronze ring - shows lamination like a Roman ring but it probably Medieval - one for the museum
    1stC AD Colchester type Roman fibula brooch fragment

    Very unusual Aucissa derivative 1stC AD Bronze Roman fibula brooch with extra large shoulders

    34.12mmW 24.41mm L, 5.47g

    Part of the mechanism still in shoulder - great find

    1stC AD Colchester type Roman fibula brooch fragment

     

    2ndC Roman Plate brooch -enamel cells of red and blue - gold spokes 4.99g, 28.85mm L x 18.54mm w
    2nd C Roman blue and yellow enameled Plate brooch - 7.56g,28.1mm L x 15.46mm W

     

    1st to 2nd C Roman blue enameled Trumpet brooch 9.84g, 16.63mm W x 21.68mm L

    1st C - Very unusual Roman brooch 18.11mm W, 24.31mm L

    'The Langton Down style was developed in Gaul in the late 1st C BC but saw use in Britain from the time of the Claudian invasion until about 75 AD. The spring on these brooches is enclosed within a distinctive tubing of fairly thin construction.The bow is flat and very thin decorated with grooves and ribs (reeding)'

    4thC Roman gold ring 3.92g, 25.25mm outer dia 3.12mm thick

     

    Roman bronze signet ring - the face is worn but appears to be T 2.43g, 21.25 mmdia
    1stC Roman Dolphine type fibula brooch
    1stC Roman Dolphine type fibula brooch
    1stC Roman Dolphine type fibula brooch
    2ndC Roman bronze fibula brooch
    Possible Roman bronze ring

     

    Stunning 1st/2nd C trumpet type Roman blue and yellow enameled fibula brooch

    5.32g, 26.05mm L x 10.48mm W

    Roman fibular broonch fragment

     

    ROMAN (Certain) to ROMAN (Certain), Circa 75 AD - Circa 200 AD bottom part of the same type of enameled brooch below found earlier in the season

    ROMAN (Certain) to ROMAN (Certain), Circa 75 AD - Circa 200 AD

    Object Type: Head stud Brooch
    Help Incomplete copper alloy ‘Roman ‘head stud’ brooch. What survives is the upper part only. The wings are semi-cylindrical, short and one wing is truncated. The spring fixing lug is broken, the spring and pin are entirely missing. A small worn knop to the top of the brooch is probably the remains of a chain loop fitting. On the head of the brooch is a worn, raised stud formed of two concentric circles. This may once have been enamelled, though no traces survive. On the surviving portion of the bow are two vertically placed recessed squares, the upper contains red enamel, the lower is empty. These squares presumably continued down the bow. The lower half of the brooch is missing, along with the catchplate. No original surface survives. Exposed surfaces are mid and light green. The broken edges, though not fresh, are not well worn, suggesting damaged occurred in the more recent past. The width of the wings is 20.48mm, the bow is 10.78wide, the brooch is 28.95mm long and weighs 10.68g. Brooches of this type date from about AD 75 to AD 200. Examples can be seein in Hattatt, 1987, Brooches of antiquity, page 123, figure 41.

     

     

     

    Bottom part found by another detectorist months later

    ESS -E663E7

     

     

    Object Type: Vessel Mount
    Help Incomplete late Iron Age to early Roman (25-60AD) cast copper alloy rosettle brooch. The head is almost completely missing, with only part of the spring encasement surviving. The brooch has an incomplete lower plate with a short, pronounced bow extending along two thirds of its length. The bow terminates in an expanded semi-circle, and the plate has curved moulded ridges extending out from this point. The combination of the plate and bow give the brooch a 'P' shaped profile. The foot and catchplate are missing. The damaged edges are extremely worn. It is 31.49mm long, 16.76mm wide, 14.13mm thick and weighs 13.56 grams.

     

     

     

    ESS-6DEAF4

    Object Type: Jewellery
    Help Roman cast copper alloy jewellery fitting - possibly an earring or a necklace fitting. There is a circular suspension loop (4.37mm diameter) at the apex with a small groove below. The main body is rectangular in plan with a square cross section (13.49mm long, 4.88mm wide), tapering in thickness towards a narrow, incomplete projecting arm with circular cross section (2.07mm diameter). There is a small raised collar seperating the arm from the main body. Each face of the main body has two small circular depressions. It has a mid-green patina. It has a total length of 25.46mm and weighs 1.81 grams
    Dates
    Help ROMAN (Certain), 40 AD - 400 AD

     

     

    Romano/British twisted wire fastener

    ESSEX, England: ESS-11BF24 Roman headstud brooch

     

    Dates
    Help EARLY ROMAN (Certain), Circa 80 AD - Circa 200 AD

     

    Object Type: Hull Type 148 Headstud Brooch
    Help Incomplete (late 1st to 2nd century) cast copper alloy headstud brooch. Only the head and part of the bow survives. The wings are short (16mm wide in total) and each is decorated with three incised lines. The circular headstud is formed of two moulded concentric circles. The bow has three remaining square cells which would have contained enamel.The rear of the bow is plain. On the crest of the head is a forward hook. The rear of the head is hollowed and has a rearward lug as if designed for a spring. It is 25.51mm long, and weighs 7.33 grams. This brooch has the remains of a a dark green patina but is mainly covered corrosion. For a parallel see Hattatt, Brooches of Antiquity, page 122 to 123, no. 944.
    2nd C Roman 'headstud type' bonze fibular brooch fragment
    2ndC Roman bronze fibula brooch

    Huge 2nd C Roman fibula brooch - these thin examples are believed to be casting failures by the museum
    2ndC Roman bronze fibula brooch
    2ndC Roman bronze fibula brooch
    2ndC Roman bronze fibula brooch
    2ndC Roman bronze fibula brooch
    2ndC Roman fibular brooch

     

    Huge 4th to 6thC bronze brooch 47.63mm W, 30.66g

    Either Longbow or Cruciform type

    2nd C Roman fibular brooch
    2nd C Roman fibular brooch
    Roman amphora brroch
    2ndC Roman fibula brooch
    Red enamelled 3rd C Roman crossbow brooch 24.46g, 39.74mm
    Romano/British enamelled disc brooch
    1stC Roman fibular brooch fragment
    1stC Roman fibular brooch
    1stC Roman fibular brooch

     

    3 beauty Roman fibular brooches

    1stC Colchester type two piece - 1stC Rosette brooch

     

    Rare find - 1stC BC to 1stC AD Celtic cosmetic decorated wode grinder
    1st C Roman fibular brooch 13.14g, 50.51mm

    Romano/British Ancient gold ring - reported as treasure to the museum

    1.53g, 26.17g

    Roman bracelet

    Roman bracelet

    Stunning 1st C decorated fibular brooch
    1stC Roman fibular brooch
    1stC Roman fibular brooch - casting flaw
    1stC Roman fibular brooch - casting flaw
    2ndC Roman fibular brooch

    Stunning 2nd Roman enameled head stud stype brooch
    Very unusual 2nd C Roman fibular brooch - not a design I know

    2ndC Roman fibular brooch
    2ndC Roman fibular brooch
    Fantastic complete 2ndC Roman plate brooch
    2ndC Roman fibular brooch
    Huge thin 2nd Roman fibular brooch
    2ndC Roman fibular brooch

    2nd C Roman gilded snake headed braclet

    Roman fibular brooch
    3rd/4thC Roman crossbow brooch
    2ndC Roman fibular brooch
    Roman brooch with possible missing intaglio centre

     

    Tiny 2nd C Roman fibular brooch
    2nd C Roman fibular brooch
    Not certain if this a Saxon or Roman decorated brooch - got to check ref books Stunning gilded 2ndC Roman fibular brooch

    What a magnificent find - Roman brooch - shaped with a rider on animal with enamel inlay. Must be some kind of votive offering

    Man is decorated with circle and crescents

    31.17mm L x 22.66 mm H ,10.99g

    2nd C Roman fibular brooch 1stC Roman Rosette brooch
    2ndC Roman fibular brooch 2ndC Roman fibular brooch
    2ndC Roman fibular brooch 2ndC Roman head stud type fibular brooch
    2nd C Roman fibular brooch - headstud type 2ndC Roman fibular brooch
    2ndC enamelled fibular brooch 2ndC Roman head stud type fibular brooch
    1st C Colchester type Roman fibular brooch 1st C Aucissa type Roman fibular brooch
    2ndC Roman fibular brooch - type not Id'd - possibly Saxon 2nd C - 1st C La Tene type Roman fibular brooch
    1st C Dolpin type Roman fibular brooch Roman 2nd C enamel inlay head stud type fibular brooch

    Roman fibular brooch - Hod hill type - 1st C AD - openwork type

    2ndC Roman fibular brooch 2ndC Roman fibular brooch

    circa 1st to 6th C - Most unusual fibular brooch I have seen dug - no classification in Hattatt's ref books.

    Front panels would have been enamelled. One for the museum experts

    1stC Roman Rosette brooch 2ndC Roman fibular brooch
    2ndC Roman fibular brooch 2nd C Roman trumpet brooch
    1stC BC Roman European fibular brooch , Knotenfibeln Huge 2nd C Roman fibula brooch - these thin examples are believed to be casting failures by the museum
    1stC AD Colchester type Roman fibula brooch fragment 2ndCRoman fibular brooch

     

    1st to 2ndC Roman Dolphin type fibular brooch Roman bronze hanging phallic pendant
    2ndC Roman fibular brooch Huge 2ndC Roman fibular brooch
    2ndC Roman fibular brooch 2ndC Roman fibular brooch
    Iron Age bronze bead Incomplete late Iron Age to early Roman (25-60AD) cast copper alloy rosettle brooch

    2ndC AD Roman Zoomorphic brooch - Domestic birds

    Red enameled diamond decoration - some enameling remains

    Ref 1167 Hattatt

    2ndC Roman fibular brooch Roman gilded mount
    2ndC Roman fibular brooch 2ndC Roman fibular brooch

    2ndC Roman enamelled fibular brooch Roman 2nd C bird brooch
    2ndC Roman fibualr brooch 2ndC Roman fibualr brooch
    1st to 2nd Hinge - head Roman brooch 2ndC Roman fibular brooch fragment
    2ndC Roman fibular brooch 2ndC Roman fibular brooch top
    Incomplete late Iron Age to early Roman (25-60AD) cast copper alloy rosettle brooch. 2ndC Roman fibular brooch
    2ndC Roman fibular brooch Unknown Roman widget with suspension loop ?
    Roman pugio suspension ring Romano/British bronze gilded pendant - suspension loop remains
    2ndC Roman fibular brooch 2ndC Roman fibular brooch
    2ndC Roman fibular brooch Iron Age to early Roman (25-60AD) cast copper alloy rosette brooch.
    Huge decorated 1st to 2nd C Roman fibular brooch - Wroxeter type 2nd/3rd C Roman gilded plate brooch
    2ndC Roman fibular brooch 2ndC Roman fibular brooch

    3rd-4thC crossbow Roman brooch

    2ndC Roman fibular brooch Huge 2ndC Roman fibular brooch
    2ndC Roman head stud type fibular brooch 2nd C Roman fibular brooch fragment
    2ndC Roman fibular brooch 2ndC Roman fibular brooch

    Smallest 2nd C Roman fibular brooch I have ever seen - 1cm !!

    Huge 2ndC Roman fibular brooch 2ndC Roman fibular brooch
    2nd to 3rdC Roman plate brooch- gilded glass centre-boss type 2ndC Roman fibular brooch - trumpet type
    2ndC Roman fibular brooch - head stud type Huge 1stC Colchester type two piece Roman brooch

    Huge 3rd-4th C Roman crossbow brooch

    2ndC Roman fibular brooch 1st C Roman fibular brooch- Dolphin type

    Romano/British bronze clothing toggle ?

    Huge 1st C Roman fibular brooch- Colchester type

    80mm L

    Roman bronze amphora pendant 2nd C Roman fibular brooch

    Uknown Bronze Age widget ?

    2nd C Roman fibular brooch 2nd C Roman fibular brooch

    Roman bronze ring

    2nd C Roman fibular brooch 2nd C Roman fibular brooch
    Roman bronze ring 2nd C Roman fibular brooch
    2nd C Roman 'head stud' fibular brooch Huge 2nd C Roman fibular brooch
    2nd C Roman 'head stud' fibular brooch 2nd C Roman fibular brooch

    Dolphin headed Roman open annular buckle

    2nd C Roman fibular brooch 2nd C Roman fibular brooch

    Roman 'fruity type'pendant

    2nd C Roman fibular brooch 2nd C Roman fibular brooch
    2nd C Roman fibular brooch 2nd Roman fibular brooch - head stud type
       

    Roman fibular brooch with diamonds ??

    Just checked on line and I cannot find any bronze fib brooches with diamonds


    The fascinating sparkle and purity of diamonds has inspired human mythos throughout history. During the period of the Ancient Greeks and Romans, diamonds were thought to be tears of the gods or splinters from falling stars. One classical Greek philosopher considered diamonds to be living beings that embodied celestial spirits.
    It was in the time of the Ancient Romans, however, that wearing diamonds in rings became a common practice. Since the diamond mineral is so strong, it was considered to be a protection charm and made uncut diamonds a high demand item. Furthermore, to cut a diamond was considered taboo, as it would loose it’s protective properties.

    2ndC Roman fibular brooch - head stud type 2ndC Roman fibular brooch

    Roman bronze seal ring

    2ndC Roman fibular brooch 2ndC Roman enamelled disc brooch
    Very unusual 2nd C Roman fibular brooch  
    2nd C Roman fibular brooch 2nd C Roman fibular brooch
    1stC Roman bow brooch 2nd C Roman fibular brooch
    2ndC Roman bronze fibular brooch 2ndC Roman fibular brooch
    Roman pendant ? Large 2ndC Roman fibular brooch

    Romano British enameled brooch - white enamel remains

    Bust facing right ?

     
    2ndC Roman fibular brooch 2ndC Roman fibular brooch

    2ndC Roman Zoomorphic enamelled brooch - bird type

       
    2nd C Roman disc brooch 1stC Roman Dolphine type fibula brooch

     

    Remarkable, huge relic to be found in one piece - 1stC BC to AD Romano/British decorated bronze ring - possible strap divider

    76mm dia (3 inch), 8mm thick.

    1stC AD Colchester type Roman fibula brooch fragment

    1stC AD Colchester type Roman fibula brooch fragment 2ndC Roman fibular brooch
    2ndC Roman head stud type fibular brooch Roman bronze open work pendant
    2ndC Roman fibular brooch 2ndC Roman bronze fibular brooch
    2ndC Roman bronze fibular brooch 1stC Colchester type two piece
    Roman 1st C Dolphin brooch - variant Hattatt Unusual Roman 1st to 4thC brooch
    1stC AD Roman fibula brooch 1stC AD Roman bronze Colchester type fibular brooch fragment

    Twisted silver wire ring - reported as potential treasure to museum

    Iron Age snake headed finger ring

    Roman gilded ring