Head-shield brooches of the Roman Iron Age from the Tarand cemeteries of the eastern Baltic
Volume 28 (2021), pp. 63–80
Pub. online: 29 December 2021
Type: Article
Open Access
Open Access
Received
12 January 2021
12 January 2021
Revised
28 April 2021
28 April 2021
Accepted
4 July 2021
4 July 2021
Published
29 December 2021
29 December 2021
Abstract
This study is dedicated to the head-shield brooches from the tarand cemetery area in Estonia, Latvia
and lands west of the Izhora plateau. Its aim is to better understand their development through
a combined typological, compositional and chronological analysis and explore their social role
in the identity politics of the people wearing them. The compositional evaluation was supported
with portable X-ray florescence spectrometry (XRF), to improve our understanding of the metal
choices made by their ancient craftsmen.
The typological study suggests that one of the earliest brooches found in the tarand cemetery area
belongs to the Almgren 100 brooches, most of which have a semi-circular shield on the front part
of the bow, a multiple-piece spring, and a triangular foot. The evidence suggests that they emerged
in the 2nd century. Subsequently, a local form developed in the northeast part of the tarand cemetery
area towards the end of the century. This local type has a squared-off foot, a multiple-piece
spring construction, and a short semi-circular head-shield. Many were also tinned, meaning their
colour was deliberately changed to a shiny silvery-white. During the 3rd century, a further group
of locally produced head-shield brooches also emerged. They have a hinged mechanism, a knob,
and a decorative rib at the end of the foot.
These local brooches likely represented a regional style and aesthetic. They could have played a
visual role in connecting the wearer to their affiliated group, or played a part in a differing social
role within the society from which they came.