See also descriptive text in printed report. The additonal notes which follow are of analysed items only.

21. Examination during conservation (conservation report on Lab. No. 3543 by Kate Hunter dated 8 March 1988, a copy of which is lodged with site archive) had suggested that the pin had been manufactured by fixing a flat, rimless iron disc several millimetres from one end of the shaft, pushing the decorative head onto the shaft as far as the iron disc and then slightly flattening the end of the shaft in order to secure the decorative head. Microscopic examination of the decorative head showed that it had no clearly defined internal structure, and that extensive decay had caused some lamination, particularly near the upper surfaces. Initial spot tests with the reagents cacothalene and potassium iodide gave negative results for tin but a good positive result for lead, and although these tests are not wholly reliable they suggested that the decorative head was of corroded lead-based enamel or glass. Spectrographs analysis, of which the results are given in the following table, shows that the decorative disc head is made of tin.