Seven pairs of Anglo-Saxon saucer brooches, one pair in each of the seven burials discovered during an excavation in South West England’s Gloucestershire, have been discovered by archaeologists.
Cotswold Archeology shared the remarkable discovery’s announcement on Twitter. The Cotswolds Archaeology team discovered more than 70 Anglo-Saxon graves at the location, some of which had luxurious grave goods. They date back to the fifth or sixth century.
In seven different graves, seven pairs of gold-gilt plate (or saucer) brooches were discovered. These types of plate brooches were ornamental accessories that were worn in pairs at the chest and were used to bind clothing.
They are called saucer brooches because of their design, which has a core body that is circular with a raised rim. They are composed of gilded copper alloy and have ornate motifs in geometric designs that were relief-cast (formed from a single sheet of metal). Cast saucer brooches include geometric patterns in their designs. The running spiral is the most popular pattern; it gets its name from how each spiral is connected to the next and runs around the brooch, typically with a pellet in the center. Five or six spirals are the most frequent, however there are occasionally more.
The raised rim that lends cast saucer brooches their name distinguishes them from button brooches. It is typical to find two extremely similar, but not exactly identical, brooches together in graves because they were typically worn in pairs.
Anglo-Saxon saucer brooches. Photo: Cotswold Archeology Facebook
The saucer brooches, which are frequently discovered in conjunction with other pricey pieces of jewelry, are still a high-status indicator for burials from this early stage of Anglo-Saxon history in England.
Saucer brooches, which had a diameter of 20 to 70 mm, were worn in pairs across the breast to secure clothing. They have simpler designs than, say, the lengthy square-headed brooches that provided greater room to produce intricate, extremely creative designs.
Photo: Twitter
“Those we uncovered were either positioned one on each shoulder or two next to each other on the left shoulder with an associated clothing pin, giving a vivid impression of how they once looked on their wearers,” they wrote on their Cotswold Archeology Facebook page.
