ABSTRACT
The crossbow brooch is one of the most iconographic Late Roman objects.The golden and silver specimens of this brooch type are highly valued for their splendour and their often outstanding decorative techniques. Their inclusion in depictions of important historical figures and on monuments from Late Antiquity only adds to their reputation as elite Roman symbols. The full story of the crossbow brooch is much more complex, however. What started out as a simple copper-alloy-based functional object became one of the most compelling symbols of Roman power.These objects were found in every province throughout the Roman empire between the 3rd and 6th centuries AD. Despite its prominent place in iconography, there are no known antique textual sources that discuss the significance of this artefact, its owners or the reason for its importance.
