ROMANO-BRITISH BERKSHIRE the Continent; in any case, they take us back to a time when trade or intercourse with Italy must at present remain a mere matter of speculation. With the exception of three found at Reading (figs, i, 6, 8), the series here illustrated was bequeathed to the Museum by Mr. Davies of Wallingford, who for many years was known to be a collector of local antiquities, and often secured specimens from labourers and others in his neighbourhood. It is conceivable that some were obtained from the Continent; but the absence of any note to that effect, combined with the discovery of still earlier specimens in the county, may be held to justify their inclusion in a his- tory of Berkshire. To an Italian type well represented in Central Europe belongs the boat- shaped brooch (fig. i) now without its pin, which was really a continuation of the bow in the form of wire, with one or two coils on one side of the head. The evolution of this type from the primitive form, which was most like a modern safety-pin, has been worked out, 1 and about midway in the series comes the ' leech ' type, which had an arched but solid bow and a shorter FIG. i. EARLY ITALIAN BROOCH OF BRONZE, BATTLE FARM, READING (f). catch-plate than the specimen here figured. Subsequent developments included some ungainly specimens which were reduced in weight by hollowing the bow, much like a canoe. Speci- mens are plentiful from Hallstatt, and it is supposed that all are previous to the introduction of the Bolognese brooch known as the Certosa type in the fifth century B.C. The next specimen (fig. 2) has all the appearance of being a degenerate descendant of what is known as the ' serpentine ' brooch of the Hallstatt period. One almost identical in the British Museum comes from Italy; and it is interesting to find that one of about the same stage of development, or rather decadence, has been excavated from Hampshire soil. It would require a long series of illustrations to show the stages connecting these with the earliest examples having double loops in the bow; but from the typological point of view the series is complete, and has been illustrated by Prof. Montelius, though the latest stages are given in another work. 2 It must suffice to mention here that the projections from the undulating bow represent horns which were added to the thickened bends that supplanted the two original loops of the bow. This explanation also accounts for the zig-zag form of the bow when seen from the side (fig. 2). The forked spring at the head is not an uncommon feature of early Italian brooches, though the single or double coil on one side of the head is characteristic; and it should be observed that the pin is merely an extension of the bow, the whole brooch being in one piece. Fie. 2. EARLY ITALIAN BROOCH OF BRONZE. (Reading Museum) J. Somewhat firmer ground is reached with the specimens here illustrated of the type known as Early La The (La The I). The name is derived from the well-known site on the shore of Lake Neuchitel (Marin), where a population of Celtic origin was settled during the last 1 Montelius, Die typologische Metbode, pp. 43-51; a summary is given in Guide to Early Iron Age Antiquities (British Museum), pp. 31-33. Spanntn frdn Sronsdldern, figs. 100 (Suessola, near Naples) and 88 (Bologna), in Antiquarisk Tid- skrift for Sverige, vi. pp. 77, 68. 223
