This exceptionally rare hairpiece was discovered in York and probably belonged to a girl who was in her mid-teens when she died.

It dates from the late 3^rd to early 4^th centuries.

It is a bun of auburn hair and was found with two jet hairpins in a stone coffin. It is so well preserved because the coffin was lined with lead and filled with gypsum.

This basic hairstyle of a bun wound round at the back was a common style across the Roman Empire among the less fashion conscious from the first century to the fifth.

The hairpins are called cantharus head pins. Most examples of these pins have been found in late Roman burials in York, with only a few found elsewhere in Britain or Europe.

Please note: The Yorkshire Museum is home to an extensive and varied collection of items and artefacts. Whilst we make every effort to display a broad spectrum of our collections it is not always possible for all our collections to be on display at once.

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