EXCAVATIONS IN 1999 ON LAND ADJACENT TO WAYSIDE FARM, DEVIZES 



165 



4077 220 R 4 House of Theodosius As CK 796 



Obv. Head right. AD388-402 



Illegible. 



Rev. Victory advancing left. 

 [SALVS REIPVBLICAE] 

 Mint mark: illegible 



4239 276 A^.4Arcadius. HK 571 



Obv. Head right. AD 395-402 



DN ARCADIVS P[F AVG] 

 Rev. Victory advancing left. 

 VICTO[RIA AVGGG] 

 Mint mark: TCON Aries 



THE NON-FERROUS AND 

 MISCELLANEOUS SMALL 

 FINDS 



by Jane Bircher 



This is a relatively small assemblage of 28 artefacts. 

 There are eight items for adornment or personal 

 use; a brooch (Object No. 1), three bracelets (2-3, 

 28), a finger ring (4), a strap-end (5), a toilet 

 implement (6) and two components of a composite 

 garment (9-10). Four items have a primarily 

 everyday domestic use; two spoons (7-8), a die (14) 

 and a box fitting (27). The strap-end, garment 

 components and box fitting are items of quality if 

 not luxury. Scraps form a relatively high proportion 

 of the lead finds and may be associated with a 

 manufacturing process on or near the site (19-26). 



The area of Late Iron Age/early Roman 

 occupation, Area 1, produced a single find - the 

 Nauheim derivative brooch ( 1 ) . Its mid- 1 st century 

 AD date is consistent with its context. All the other 

 identifiable artefacts derive from the Area 2 midden 

 or the pit (F4225), which it partially seals. The 

 ceramic and numismatic evidence suggests a date 

 of AD370-420+ for these deposits and there is 

 nothing to indicate that the small finds do not fit 

 comfortably within the same date range. The copper 

 alloy bracelets (2-3), strap-end (5), spoons (7-8) 

 and bone mount (22) are all diagnostically 4th 

 century types. Parallels from other sites suggest a 

 4th-century date for the finger ring (4) and die (14). 

 The stamped sheet objects (9-10) appear to derive 

 from late Antique dress. It is especially useful to 

 see an example of a late Roman strap-end (5) in a 

 securely stratified context. 



The assemblage is too small to indicate a site- 

 type with any certainty. However it has some 

 unusual features which support the evidence of 



ritual or religious activity provided by the other 

 finds, in particular the lead curse tablet (below). 

 The highly unusual stamped decorative sheets, if 

 originally attached to garments, could have 

 constituted priestly or special regalia. The manner 

 of their deposition is especially intriguing. The collar 

 (9) has been intentionally folded prior to deposition 

 and must have been detached from any garment at 

 the time. The preservation of the curvilinear profile 

 of the thin metal epaulette (10) suggests that this 

 too was detached and very carefully deposited. Both 

 items derive from pit F4225. It could be suggested 

 that rather than simply being thrown away, these 

 items were intentionally (Pritually) discarded. 

 Although by no means conclusive, the presence of 

 other personal items and, in particular, the two 

 spoons could also indicate religious practice. 

 Spoons, particularly in the late Roman period 

 clearly have some liturgical as well as domestic 

 function (of the inscribed silver spoons from the 

 Thetford hoard; Johns and Potter 1983). They are 

 also a common class of votive object at temple sites 

 (cf Lydney, Nettleton, etc. as discussed in 

 Woodward and Leach 1993, 332-334). Small 

 personal objects such as bracelets and strap-ends 

 occur on all classes of 4th-century site but where 

 they occur at temples can clearly be assigned a votive 

 nature (ibid for bracelets. Lydney; Wheeler and 

 Wheeler 1932, 84, no. 82, fig. 19, Maiden Castle, 

 Wheeler 1943, 288, nos. 14-15, fig. 96 for strap- 

 ends). 



In the absence of any clear recognisable 

 structure within the excavated area, a more precise 

 interpretation is difficult. When the cumulative 

 evidence of the small finds and the unusual 

 composition of the ceramics is viewed together, a 

 non-domestic assemblage becomes a strong 

 possibility and a religious context appears attractive. 



CATALOGUE OF COPPER 

 ALLOY OBJECTS 



Illustrated 



Fig. 12.1. (Object No. 2). Area 2, midden seg. 4027, 

 SF212. Approximately one third survives of a well-made 

 bracelet of D-shaped section decorated with lozenge- 

 shaped panels separated by groups of 4 (5 at the terminal) 

 transverse grooves. The bracelet closed with a hook-and- 

 eye fastening with part of the eye terminal extant. A 3rd- 

 century date is given for a similar bracelet from a later 

 4th century context at Greyhound Yard, Dorchester 



