cross-posted from: https://feddit.uk/post/25429359

Experts are investigating the discovery of a mysterious Roman artefact uncovered in an Iron Age settlement under an Ayrshire distillery.

Archaeologists believe the enamelled bronze brooch may have been placed in the foundations of the fortified roundhouse as a sacrifice during its construction to grant “protection” to the household.

The item, thought to have dated from about the second century AD, was found during an excavation at the William Grant and Sons Girvan Distillery at the Curragh in South Ayrshire in 2020.

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The brooch was thought to be a popular design among Roman military personnel, but examples of the artefacts have been more commonly discovered in present-day central Europe, the Rhineland and Switzerland.

It would have arrived in Scotland at about the time the Roman Empire was losing its grip on the south of the country.

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Jordan Barbour, who co-authored a report into the find, said it was unclear how the brooch passed from Roman hands to those of the Britons.

But he said it was a possible the artefact was a “trophy won in battle”.

He said: "It’s the only Roman artefact recovered from the site. If the inhabitants had established regular trade with Roman Britain, we might expect to find a greater variety of Roman objects, but this is a solidly native context.