IRON AGE MINIATURE OBJECT

-400

Fragment of a copper alloy miniature shield. The shield is flat, oval in plan, and is elaborately decorated.The shield has a raised oval boss with a pair of deep, concave channels radiating vertically and horizontally from it, thus dividing the shield into four quarters.The shield is in a fair state of preservation. The perimeter is damaged in places, and approximately half of the shield surface is missing. There is a small circular hole located half way up the upper channel, which may be damage or may be an intentional rivet hole.Miniature shields are difficult to date although they are thought to range from circa 400BC to the mid-late 1st century AD.