The Iron Age is so named because it marks the point at which people had not only mastered ironworking, but were using iron for a wide range of weapons, tools, and accessories. We all know how easily iron rusts and falls apart and that iron is also recyclable.
This is therefore a rare survival, of an object that gave the Iron Age its name, in Leicestershire County Council's museums collections. It's a brooch, and works on the same principle as a modern safety pin.
It was found during excavations in the 1960s at Burrough Hill, near Melton Mowbray, the site of an Iron Age 'hillfort'. Further excavations on this site are currently being conducted by Leicester University.
