A Late Iron Age Bronze Comb, Tanworth-in-Arden

Description of this historic site

A copper alloy Iron Age comb was reported to the Portable Antiquities Scheme, found in a ploughed field in Tanworth-in-Arden. With mirror-style decoration, it is suggested that the comb may have been used for equine grooming.

Notes about this historic site

1 A copper alloy Iron Age comb was reported to the Portable Antiquities Scheme, found in a ploughed field in Tanworth-in-Arden. Analysis of the comb revealed it to be of tin-bronze alloy, with a small quantity of arsenic. The cast decoration on the comb has been described as mirror-style, commonly found on the reverse of Iron-Age mirrors. A date of c.25 to 70 AD is suggested on stylistic grounds. It is suggested that the comb may have been used for equine grooming, which fits well with the large proportion of horse and vehicle related objects recorded by the PAS in Warwickshire.
2 Recorded by the PAS database.