Dragonesque brooch, Roman Britain, 1st or 2nd century AD The ‘dragonesque’ form of this brooch is typically Romano-British: first appearing after the start of the Roman conquest of southern England in AD 43. Brooches were not only decorative objects, but also functional fasteners – a strongly-curved pin (missing on this example) would have held a thick fold of cloth. © Trustees of the British Museum
