Small treasures from Itchen Stoke and Ovington
Three small treasures found in Itchen Stoke and Ovington have gone on display in the City Museum, Winchester. The objects were all discovered by Mr Pete Pynigar of Chandlers Ford when out metal detecting. He reported them to the Finds Liaison Officer for Hampshire, and recently donated the artefacts to Winchester City Council's Museums Service.
Two of the objects are evidence of the Romans in Hampshire. The first is especially interesting for its rarity: a copper-alloy and silver coated pin head taking the form of a human head. On looking at it a face from the past stares back at you, albeit a stylised one. Particularly distinctive is the man's hair which is styled into a succession of 'V's travelling down the back. Obviously trendy haircuts are nothing new!
The second object is a small oval brooch that now lacks its pin, but still retains traces of the red and blue enamel set into the brooch to create a sun-burst design.
The third item tells us that an Anglo-Saxon horseman passed through the area a thousand years ago. The 11th century stirrup strap mount would have prevented the leather fraying where it met the rider's stirrup, but it may have come loose and fallen off in the field where it was found. The mount is decorated with an animal design, possibly a lion or a mythical beast facing left. It is a rare example of its kind and a type not already held in the Museums Service collections.
Robin Iles, Museums Service Education Officer, said: "Small items like these all help us to build up a picture of the lives of people in the Winchester District in the past, and we are grateful to Mr Pynigar for donating them to the museum, where they can be seen and enjoyed by people today and in the future."
You can view all three objects in the new accessions display case in the City Museum in the Square, which also contains other items of local interest recently added to the City Council's collections.
Admission is free.
Opening times - From 1 April - Mon-Sat 10-5, Sun 12-5
For further information contact: 01962 848 269 or email: museums@winchester.gov.uk