Some of the Roman Jewellery on display in our Archaeology Gallery

Some of the most common Roman finds are brooches, fibulae, as they were easily broken or lost. They weren't just for decoration, they secured clothing, and they were similar in their securing technique to safety pins.

Brooches were already being worn by the native British before the Roman invasion, so brooches of the Roman period show a combination of both British and continental styles. It has been suggested that brooches were mainly worn by the native Britons and not by the more 'Romanised' elite until at least the 4th century.

These were worn by both men and women. Some had carved stones, intaglios, which were used, with melted wax, to seal documents. Two rings from Rocester have lost their intaglios, which may have been carved with scenes from mythology. Two shale bracelets were found at Rocester, as well as a few made of bronze. Many women had their ears pierced and fragments of earrings have been found.

These were made from precious metals, but most would have been made from cheaper bronze or glass. Glass 'melon' beads - so-called because they resemble melon slices - were found at Rocester from a necklace that someone had lost in Roman times.

These were used to secure women's hair, and were both decorative and functional. The length of hair pins changed over time with the changes in hairstyle fashion. One pin, from Rocester, has an elaborate head in the shape of a flask and stopper.