Ball Brooches in the Age of Citizen Science Cover Image

Ball Brooches in the Age of Citizen Science
Ball Brooches in the Age of Citizen Science

Author(s): Jes Martens
Subject(s): Archaeology, Cultural history, Ancient World
Published by: Facultatea de Istorie și Geografie, Universitatea Pedagogică de Stat „Ion Creangă”
Keywords: Ball brooches; Denmark; chronology; typology; metal detecting;

Summary/Abstract: Ball brooches make a difficult research theme in Denmark. This is mainly because very few of the hitherto published specimens were found in a context or under circumstances that help to shed light on their chronology. The most recently published study is a very brief paper by Jesper Laursen on the chronology and typology of ball brooches (Laursen 1984). Laursen’s paper was published at a time when hobby metal detecting was only at its early stages in Denmark. Therefore, this hobby had not yet had its impact on the material. Metal detecting favors objects with much metal and since cultivated soil contains a lot of iron waste most hobby detectorists tend to screen for iron.