Anglo-Saxon, 8th century

A similar pin was found in the ruins of Birdoswold Roman fort in northern England (next to Hadrian’s wall).¹ The pierced hole on the right-hand side edge of the above pin suggests that it was once part of a linked pair or even a linked triple-set. Sets of two or three linked pins were fashionable in the late eighth century. The most spectacular example is the linked triple pin set from the river Witham, in Lincolnshire,² and another example, with Runic inscription, was sold at Christies London, 11 Apr 2000, lot 122.

¹T Wilmott, Birdoswald: Excavations of a Roman Fort on Hadrian’s Wall and its Successor Settlements: 1987–92, English Heritage Archaeological Report 14 (Swindon, 1997), 49–54

²L. Webster and J. Backhouse, The Making of England: Anglo-Saxon Art and Culture AD 600-900, The British Museum, London, 1991, no. 184