Hunterston Brooch (700 AD) (in Scotland or Ireland), Hunterston Brooch is cast in silver, gilt, and set with pieces of amber (most now missing), and decorated with interlaced animal bodies in gold filigree. The diameter of the ring is 12.2cm, and in its centre there is a cross and a golden glory representing the risen Christ, surrounded by tiny bird heads. The pin, which is broken, can travel freely around the ring as far as the terminals, which was necessary for fastening; it is now 13.1cm long, but was probably originally 15cm or more.
The back of the brooch has a scratched inscription in runes in the Old Norse language, probably from 10th Century AD: "Melbrigda owns this brooch".
The brooch was found near Hunterston, North Ayrshire, Scotland, in 1826 or 1830 (according to different sources). It is considered one of the finest of over 50 highly elaborate surviving Irish Celtic brooches, and the earliest of the ornate penannular brooches from Britain and Ireland.
The National Museum of Scotland
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