Fig. 127.—Bronze Armlet found at Stanhope, Peeblesshire. Front and back views (4½ inches in diameter).
The armlet (Fig. [127]), which is similar in form and ornamentation to those which have been described, measures 4½ inches in greatest diameter internally, and 4 inches from front to back. It is 3 inches wide across the middle of the back where it is narrowest, and 4½ inches across the centre of the terminal expansions. Its weight is 1 lb. 14¾ oz. The enamels which usually filled the circular spaces in the terminal expansions are absent, and there is no trace of the fastenings which held them in their places. The analysis of this armlet by Dr. Stevenson Macadam shows it to be a true bronze consisting of:—
| Copper | 90·69 |
| Tin | 9·29 |
| Loss | ·02 |
| ———— | |
| 100·00 |
Fig. 128.—Buckle-like object of Bronze found at Stanhope, Peeblesshire.
The buckle-like objects (Fig. [128]) are slightly oval in shape, formed of a single casting in bronze, consisting of an oval penannular ring 2¾ inches in diameter, convex exteriorly, and slightly hollow behind. It is decorated with two oval ornaments, with bosses at one side, and furnished with a somewhat rectangular projection, having a loop at the back. The ornamentation presents the same character as that of the armlet, but is lower in relief, consisting of curved and trumpet-like forms projecting from the surface.
The saucepan (Fig. [129]) is also a single casting in bronze, thin and beautifully finished, and tinned inside. The bowl of the pan is 6 inches wide at the mouth, the sides slightly bulging in the middle, and contracting to a diameter of 3¾ inches across the bottom. Its depth inside is 3⅞ inches. The bottom of the vessel is ornamented on the outside by four projecting concentric bands which give it strength, while the thinning of the metal in the interspaces would serve to transmit the heat quickly. It is furnished with a flattened side handle 5½ inches in length, having a circular expansion at the end. This special form of saucepan of tinned bronze, with the long flat side handle terminating in a circular ornamented and perforated expansion, is found all over the area of the Roman Empire.[[68]] They seem to have spread over the area of the Roman colonisation with other products of Roman manufacture, and when they are found in association with objects that are not Roman in form and style of decoration, their presence is an indication that the period of the deposit cannot be widely distant from the time of the Roman occupation. The conclusion drawn from the association of this saucepan with these objects of native workmanship decorated in this purely indigenous style of art, is plainly that this native style of art was already in the period of its highest development at or about the time of the Roman occupation of the southern portion of Scotland.
Fig. 129.—Saucepan of Bronze found with the Bronze Armlet, etc., at Stanhope, Peeblesshire.
All these armlets are of one special variety of form, penannular, with expanded ends, having the exterior surface divided into three parallel bands, the middle band stopping short at the circular opening in the expanded extremity, and the bands on either side of it passing round the openings to unite as one endless band.