285 (33)

257

Brooches

into areas alternately with cross hatching, and opposed, hatched and plain or dotted triangles, within a beaded border; three of the four collets in the middle of the sides retain green glass Stones, and there is a raised boss at each comer; a larger boss, flanked by two smaller ones, adjoins the frame beside each collet; the missing pin would have been attached to the intemal bar. The back is pitted with bubbles from the casting process. There is some evidence of wear from the pin on the frame. Damage on the outer edge at each comer may indicate that further decoration has been broken off; the symmetry of the design as recovered would probably have madę the brooch acceptable for wearing, even if some original elements were missing.

Probable pentagonal frame

Pewter

1345 BIG82 3141 (2591) 8 fig 166 Fragment of frame; estd original d c.38mm; pewter (AML); an inner ring and an outer (?)pentagon are transversely ridged and there are traces of an outer, thinner plain ring; there are solid, false collets with shallowly hollowed tops at the points of juncture of the elements of the frame.

A similar brooch, found in dumped spoił from the Billingsgate site and retaining its copper-alloy wire pin

(private collection), gives the probable original appear-ance of the present example.

Hexagonal frames

Pewter

1346 BWB83 5806 (298) 11 fig 166 Incomplete; 27x25mm; pewter (AML); frame deco-rated with a row of dots within linę borders, and with larger dots at each corner; pin missing.

1347 BWB83 5098 (unstratified)

Smaller fragment of a brooch similar to the preceding; pewter (AML); Although the design is identical, minor differences in the size and positions of the dots indicate that these brooches are from different moulds.

A third, somewhat morę complete example (also lacking the pin) was found in spoił dumped from the Billingsgate site (private collection). A larger lead/tin alloy brooch of similar outline has an illiterate legend (MoL acc. no. 84.122).

Six-lobed frames

Pewter

1348    BWB83 4555 (274) 9 fig 166 Incomplete; max d c.34mm; pewter (AML); solid, false collets intemally and extemally at the points and