Fibula

A decorative brooch of safety-pin form usually made of bronze. The name comes from the thin pointed leg bone, which served from early times as a pin. Like the simple pin the fibula implies draped garments, such as the cloak or toga. The earliest examples date to around 1300BC, though their point of origin is still a matter of controversy. Wide variation is found in Roman fibulae, leading on to the final forms in the Saxon periods (usually described as a brooch instead). In northern Europe the pin was usually made separately from the bow, though the variations followed a similar course to that in the south. Fibulae in Britain and in Buckinghamshire are usually Roman in date, such as the one found at Yewden Villa.