Bronze: Early Iron Age
Oakbank crannog provides a rare and varied assemblage of organic artefacts but like other Early Iron Age sites, metalwork evidence is limited. However, a decorative ‘swan’s neck’ pin, discovered in 2002 is a version of the crook-headed pin, an Early Iron Age type known from central/eastern Scotland (Dunning 1935; Coles 1959; Dixon 2004, 158).
Another rare, decorated ring-headed pin was recently discovered on Moredun fort, Perth. This copper-alloy, bird-headed pin, dating to the 3rd century BC, has been described as a ‘miniature masterpiece of early Celtic art’ (Strachan et al 2020, 40). The intricate openwork decoration displays zoomorphic elements in a style typical of insular Celtic art, perhaps to mimic the eyes of a beast or a bird with hollows which may have originally held coral or enamel inlays. Found within a roundhouse, the pin may have been broken on purpose, perhaps as an offering (Strachan et al forthcoming).
Another unusual find was the La Tène 1 bronze brooch recovered from Castle Law fort, Abernethy, in the 1890s (Christison and Anderson 1899; Hunter 2009; Hull and Hawkes 1987). Brooches do not appear to have been common in Early Iron Age Scotland, to judge from the limited numbers recorded (Hunter 2009). The lack of accompanied burials during this period, in comparison to northern England, makes it difficult to determine the gender variation in how these brooches were used. With typological parallels to the south, these early brooches may have been traded long-distances amongst social elites in the form of gift exchange between 300–100 BC.
Castle Law, Abernethy also produced a bronze spiral finger ring and a ring-headed pin, objects which are more typical of the northern Iron Age. The paucity of brooches in comparison to the evidence for widespread and prolonged use of ring-headed pins suggests brooches were restricted to the upper echelons of society.
Bronze: early centuries AD
Around the beginning of the 1st century AD, a marked change in personal ornamentation occurs in both style and volume in the north-east of Scotland (Hunter 2007b, 289; MacGregor 1976, 177). In contrast to the rarity of metalwork from the preceding period, the quality and quantity of metalwork from this period is significant, particularly the emergence of massive metalwork (MacGregor 1976, 177-8). Identified as one of the few regionally distinctive metalworking traditions in Iron Age Britain, massive metalwork is concentrated in the north-east of Scotland between the Moray Firth and the Firth of Forth (Hunter 2019, 87–123). Objects which fall into this striking style of decorative metalwork include armlets, zoomorphic spiral bracelets, finger rings and a limited selection of non-personal ornament such as strap junctions – horse harness fittings – and tankard handles (Hunter 2019, 87–123).
The flourishing of this distinct type of metalwork during the Roman Iron Age is remarkable in terms of the distribution and evidence of regionality and artistic style. Hunter suggests the creation of massive metalwork was an ‘outpouring of a very visual indigenous response’ to reinforce identity, a reaction caused by the external threat posed by Rome (2006, 150). Several outstanding examples of massive metalwork are known from Perth and Kinross.
Massive armlets
Massive armlets are imposing pieces of personal ornament, decorated in high relief, often with terminals containing discs of colourful patterned enamel. 29 are known from Scotland, falling into two types/regional variations: oval and folded. Whilst folded armlets are usually recorded as single finds, oval armlets are often found in pairs (Hunter 2019, 92). In 1837, two bronze armlets of the oval type were discovered at Pitkelloney, Muthill, and are in the collections of the British Museum (MPK762; registration P&RB 38.7-14.3a-b; Smith 1881, 340–2). They are similarly decorated, inset with roundels containing yellow and red glass, creating a display of patterns and colours clearly in vogue during the 1st–2nd centuries AD. The enamel designs bear a striking resemblance to the pair from Castle Newe, Aberdeenshire (Smith 1881, 330–2). Another example of the oval type of armlet, poorly provenanced but presumed to be from the vicinity of Perth, is in a fragmented state, possibly as a result of poor casting (MPK3353; Perth Museum registration number 1293 [139]; Anderson and Black 1888, 339–40; MacGregor 1976, no. 250).
Finger rings
The ‘massive’ style of the first quarter of the first millennium AD also includes a new style of finger ring. They combine the typical enamelling of the massive style with the use of bezels adopted from Roman ring styles (Hunter 2019, 97). Their distribution is concentrated in Fife, Moray, and Perth and Kinross (Hunter 2019, 95–7). They vary in design and form a distinct change from the spiral finger ring, a common Iron Age personal ornament in circulation over a prolonged period.
Several rings featuring circular bezels decorated with enamelling are known from Perth and Kinross (Hunter 2019, 95–7). The example from Tarnavie, Dunning (NMS registration no. FA 109) features a triskele design in red, yellow and (probably) blue enamel (Simpson 1970; MacGregor 1976, no. 260) and Strageath Roman fort produced an example with a petal design (NMS registration no. X.FRG 134; Frere and Wilkes 1989, 154). Three further examples have been found recently, with the enamelling in various states of decay: from Kildinny, Forteviot, with quatrefoil decoration (MPK19600; Perth Museum registration no. 2018.112; DES 2016, 144);, a bezel from Portmoak, Kinross (MPK20038; Perth Museum registration no. 2018.115); and from Castle Craig broch, a complete ring in fine condition decorated with a chequer pattern (Poller forthcoming). Kildinny and Portmoak are metal-detector finds, and the condition of Portmoak could be a reflection of deliberate, votive deposition in the shallow waters of Loch Leven.
Tankard handles
The ‘massive’ style extends to the tankard handle group discussed above. The largest and most elaborately decorated of the handles from Perth and Kinross is in the ‘massive’ style. It was excavated at Castle Craig broch (Horn 2015, fig. 11; Hunter 2019, 99; Poller forthcoming; Case Study Castle Craig Broch). Like the finger rings already discussed, it is a hybrid object fusing Roman and regional traits. The handle form fits Horn’s Group VII – Pointed Oval (lugged), a group, ‘overwhelmingly associated with Roman military and settlement sites and is often recovered in close association to Roman material culture’ (Horn 2015, 328). The curvilinear trumpet decoration links it to the ‘massive’ style. The direction of travel of these cultural traits is hard to determine and needs further consideration. Was the mixing Roman determined or indigenous determined?
Strap junctions
Strap junctions (horse harness fittings) are tentatively classed as part of the massive metalworking tradition (Hunter 2019, 97–8). The recent metal-detector find of a rare figure-of-eight strap junction from near Carpow Roman fort is only the second known example of the tradition in Scotland (MPK20017; Perth Museum registration no. 2019.47). Featuring high-relief mouldings, trumpets and an enamelled circular field, this unique example is significantly more decorative than examples from the Borders (MacGregor 1976, no. 18, 36–8). Cracks in the metal show it was well-used and probably damaged from use (Hall 2018). The suggestion is that auxiliary soldiers were acquiring and using indigenous material culture.
Terrets – chariot/cart fittings used to guide the reins – form another class of decorative metalwork associated with later prehistoric equitation. Examples include fragments – roughly half-portions – from Vane Farm (MPK18181) and Kelty, Fife, and a near complete example from Balgeddie (MPK20273) near Kinross (Perth Museum registration nos. 2013.32, 2015.115 and 2021.54, respectively). All three were recovered from what were, before drainage, the margins of Loch Leven and probably represent the continuation or renewal of votive depositional practices in this watery place. An Iron Age lipped terret ring was found during fieldwalking at Cargill Roman fortlet by the Roman Gask Project (DES 2003); its style is much more typical of southern Britain, and it probably came north as the possession of an auxiliary.