Bracelet

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This bronze bracelet, of a type known as a spiral or 'snake' bracelet, was found at Culbin Sands in Moray. It is a distinctly Scottish form of Iron Age jewellery, clearly made for ostentatious display. It dates from the first two centuries AD.

The bracelet has been made so that the central coil is different than the other two. The central coil has 17 simple, lozenge-shaped panels, while the top and bottom are in low relief.

Eight bracelets of this type are known, all but one from Scotland, with most of these from the north-east. They were cast in straight rods, decorated in part with ribbing or grooves, with animal heads at the ends. The rods were then coiled into spirals.

Record details

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• Online ID: 000-100-036-182-C
• Image Rights Holder: National Museums Scotland
• Project: National Museums Scotland
  Project description   View all records in project
• Ref: National Museums Scotland  X.FA 89
• Date: 1st or 2nd century
  Between 0 and 200 AD
  
• Material: Bronze, blue glass; in the form of a coiled double-headed serpent
  Armlet
  
• Dimensions:
• What: Armlet
  
• Subject:
• Who:
• Where: Scotland, Moray, Dyke and Moy, Culbin Sands
  
• Event:
• Description: Bronze armlet in the form of a coiled double-headed serpent with blue glass eyes, from Culbin Sands, Moray, 1st or 2nd century AD
  
• References:
  • MacGregor, Morna. Early Celtic art in North Britain. Leicester: Leicester University Press, 1976, vol. 1, pp 103-5; vol. 2, no. 214. 
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