At long last I am able to reproduce a drawing of a copper alloy Anglian cruciform brooch that was found by a metal-detectorist near Beverley, East Yorkshire. It was reported to the Hull and East Riding Museum in the early to mid 1990s. This being the pre-Portable Antiquities Scheme era, any provision for recording such material was at the discretion of the staff responsible for running the museum’s identification service. Recognizing the significance of such a piece I drew the brooch intending to publish it in due course. Soon afterwards I accepted a new job in Leeds and the brooch drawing was put to one side because my new duties had to take priority. However, I’m pleased to be able to share the brooch illustration for the first time with readers of the Medieval Section Blog.
As I recall the circumstances of discovery were rather sensitive. The finder offered the brooch for sale to the Museum and under due diligence the staff at the time contacted the landowner to request a formal transfer-of-title. However, the landowner had not been aware that metal-detecting was taking place on the land in question, though it was happy to give the brooch to Hull Museums. As a result the metal-detectorist did not receive a reward of any kind. It seemed a harsh outcome for him having reported the discovery but legally there was no other course of action because he did not have permission to metal-detect on that piece of land.
The drawing makes clear the brooch has a strongly arched bow. The terminals take the form of a face with what appears to be a protruding tongue. The cheeks look like birds’ beaks or perhaps biting beasts. Similarly-decorated extensions appear on the foot of the brooch. There are a number of disc-shaped depressions: two on the head of the brooch, one on the foot and I suspect part of one still survives on the left-hand terminal. There may have been some sort of inlay as decoration. Presumably the brooch dates from the 5th-6th centuries AD . It may have been worn as one of a pair of brooches, one on each shoulder and used to secure clothing. However, no other material was reported. It is not known whether this was from a burial or whether it was a casual loss, though it is in rather good condition.It measures 8.7cm (L.) by 7.6cm (W).
When I returned to Hull and East Riding Museum for a year in 2005 I tried to find the brooch again in the collection but the Assistant Keeper had no recollection of it and it does not appear on the publicly-accessible database for the collection. It is a beautiful piece and it was a challenging illustration. In fact it was the last significant drawing I worked on. It would be good to locate it again.
Medieval Section of the Yorkshire Archaeological and Historical Society 