Grange Brooch

In addition to the finds described on pages 2 and 3, the brooch on the right of the picture below was also found at Grange Farm by metal detectorists during the excavation. Further investigation failed to locate a grave but, however, the high quality and relatively complete state of the brooch suggest it originally came from a burial. It has only one close parallel in Britain, the brooch shown on the left, now in Canterbury Museum, which was originally a 19th century find without provenance. The Canterbury brooch is also likely to come from burial, as indicated by the traces of textile remains on the reverse.

There is considerable debate about the nature of these brooches. Up until the discovery of the new example, the Canterbury brooch had received little serious attention, but was regarded by most scholars as a Scandinavian import in Nydam Style, dating from c. 410-480 AD. Martin Gaimster of PCA, however, is not convinced of their Scandinavian origin, favouring instead manufacture in England. They are certainly very similar to brooches from Sweden, Norway and Denmark, but the only brooch which has clearly come from the same workshop as the Grange Farm example is that now in Canterbury. The importance of both these brooches is that they demonstrate either high-status Scandinavian brooch imports or manufacture in a Scandinavian style in east Kent from the mid-5th century, rather earlier than the better known early square-headed brooches of the late 5th and early 6th centuries.

Further research on both brooches will aim to clarify their origin and dating.

Andrew Richardson
Finds Liaison Officer, Kent