Dress-pins

Burial from Veien - cremation grave from the Late Roman Iron Age
c.300CE

These dress-pins have been tied together with a chain of iron rings. Today, it is heavily damaged by rust, and broken in two places.    
 
As jewellery is typically made from more durable materials than clothing and textiles, they often survive while clothing has long since deteriorated. These chained dress-pins are believed to have been used for women's clothing. Women would wear both an underdress and an overdress, both made of wool. They would often use two brooches to fasten the dress at the shoulders since it lacked sleeves.

Both men and women wore jewellery and clothing pins as part of their outfits. Several grave findings at Veien support this, including the cruciform-shaped brooch and the square-headed brooch displayed in the same showcase. Both pieces are likely from male graves.