Crescentic Shaped Plaque

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• This crescentic shaped plaque is one of the most important pieces of decorated metalwork from the British Iron Age.
• The object is made of bronze sheet. An elaborate triskele design was embossed by beating the reverse side of the sheet into a wooden template.
• This three limbed design is characteristic of late La Tè�ne art, of the second and first centuries BC. In this case, the detail resembles the eye and the beak of a fledgling bird. We think that this often repeated design held some kind of symbolic significance.
• The function of the plaque is unknown. The presence of rivet holes indicates that it was attached to a wooden or leather surface. One suggestion is that the plaque was a decorative element at the front of a chariot, another that it was part of a shield face. Alternatively it could have adorned a cult statue placed on a causeway into the lake.
• The crescentic shaped plaque has played a critical role in our understanding of late La T�ne art in Britain.
• The crescentic plaque is similar in size to a dinner plate, being 184mm in diameter.