Find Spot record 7025 - Late Iron Age/ early Roman Harness fitting from Tattenhall

Two Late Iron Age or Early Roman cast copper alloy terret, probably dating from 1st century AD. Found together in December 2001 by metal detector (1).

LVPL2100: Late Iron Age or Early Roman cast copper alloy terret, probably dating from 1st century AD. The terret is small and is of the ‘knobbed’ type, Spratling Type IX (2). The attachment bar is flat and has a central point at its base, forming a tang defined by curving sides (length of bar - 12.8-15.4mm, depth of bar - 14.5mm). On each side of the bar is an oval stop (14-15 x 10.5-11mm), which appear to be pointed at the tops. The stops are decorated along the sides with transverse mouldings contained within a narrow border and are angled at approximately 15 degrees from the vertical. The hoop is of oval section, with a pointed outer and rounded inner edge (internal diameter of hoop - 25 x 22.3mm, width of hoop - 6.1-8.2mm). The hoop is decorated with three integral knobbed clusters each composed of five solid knobs or spheres (diameter of individual spheres - 5-7mm). Four of the spheres are arranged in a cross on the hoop with the fifth crowning the cluster at the junction of the four spheres. The hoop gets wider as it approaches each of the decorative knobbed. The outside edge of the hoop is relatively straight between each cluster, defining a rather lozenge-shape to the outside of the hoop. No wear facets are evident within the hoop (1).

LVPL2101: Late Iron Age or Early Roman cast copper alloy terret, probably dating from 1st century AD. The terret is large and is of the ‘knobbed’ type, Spratling Type IX (2). The attachment bar is V-shaped, with two central points forming tangs defined by curving sides. This bar arrangement is slightly unusual and may be seen as a precursor to the Roman style skirt on the base of terrets. The bar is 15.6-23.7mm long and is 21.5mm deep. On each side of the bar is a pointed oval stop (34-35 x 19-20mm) decorated with a groove running along its side. The stops are angled at approximately 45 degrees to the vertical and are decorated on the top and bottom of the hoop side with lentoid mouldings. The hoop is of oval section, with a pointed outer and rounded inner edge and has an internal diameter of 42.5 x 34.7mm and a width of 6.4-14.8mm. The hoop grows more elongated as it approaches the stops and is near circular at the apex. The hoop is decorated with three integral knobbed clusters each composed of five solid knobs or spheres (diameter of individual spheres - 6-7.5mm). Four of the spheres are arranged in a cross on the hoop with the fifth crowning the cluster at the junction of the four spheres. The central cluster has lost the crowning sphere. No wear facets are evident within the hoop, although there is the suggestion of some wear above the stops on one side (1).

The two terrets (one large, one small) were found together and would have formed part of a set (a set of terrets would consist of one large terret and four smaller terrets). Close parallels for this type of terret are not evident within archaeological literature, although a close parallel of the knobbed decoration, but with a more standard bar, can be found in Benets book of Artefacts (3), I15-015, but frustratingly gives no information about the illustrated example. Knobbed terrets are known to have a generally northern distribution of Northern England and Scotland (1).

<1> Portable Antiquities Scheme, Various, Portable Antiquities Data Import, LVPL2100 & LVPL2101 (Digital Archive). SCH5212.

<2> Spratling, 1972, Southern British Decorated Bronzes of the Late Pre-Roman Iron Age (Unpublished Report). SCH6800.

<3> Murawski, P, 2000, Benets book of Artefacts (Book). SCH6801.