Hair Pin

Description

This detail shows the back of a bone pin found at the site of the Roman fort at Newstead in Roxburghshire. The pin was used as a hairpin or dress pin between 80 and 100 AD. The head of the pin is carved into the shape of a woman. This picture shows her high, elaborate hair style - which would have needed many hair pins to hold its shape. Pins are found on a number of Roman sites in Britain, made of bone, bronze, silver or gold. Some were carved with heads portraying goddesses or spirits, while others appear to represent ordinary individuals. Photo © National Museums Scotland


Object Information

Date Created:

80-100 AD

Local ID:

X.FRA 688

Collection:

National Museums Scotland

Provenance:

James Curle excavations 1905-1911

Place of Creation/Discovery:

Trimontium

Citation:

Curle, J. A Roman frontier post and its people: the fort of Newstead. Glasgow: MacLehose, 1911, p 337, Pl. XCIII, 16

Materials:

Bone

Cultural Attribution:

Roman

Period:

1st-2nd Century CE

Classification:

Fashion, Accessory

Rights:

In Copyright- National Museums Scotland