Dragonesque Brooches and their Development

Abstract

Among the many brooches which have been found at Corstopitum, six specimens are recorded of the S-shaped or dragonesque type, which in its fully developed form has been well described as one of the finest examples of Romano-Celtic art. The type occurs predominantly in the military districts of Roman Britain (cf. distribution map, fig. i). Over 75 per cent. of the known examples have been found north of a line joining the Severn and the Humber, but even in this area only one site, Traprain Law, has yielded so many examples as Corstopitum, and of the six found at Traprain only two were complete, and one was a mere fragment. The Corstopitum brooches, while having in common the S-shaped or dragonesque outline, differ so much in other details as to invite the consideration of their mutual relationship and their respective places in the development of the type.