This elegant pin is topped with a beautifully carved pinecone, a motif that hints at symbolism and religious practices in the Roman period.

Bone pins found in Roman graves are usually located near the skull, which suggests they were worn in the hair. However, pins of this size could also have been used to fasten clothing, so they are usually interpreted more broadly as hair or dress pins. This example belongs to Crummy’s Type 7 category of “individually styled” pins. Its tapering shaft is characteristic of earlier Roman styles, used up to around c. AD 250.

Pinecones were rich in symbolic meaning in Roman culture. They were associated with fertility, regeneration, and the endurance of life, themes drawn from the evergreen tree from which they fall and the many seeds they contain.

Archaeological deposits of actual pinecones reinforce their connection to ritual practice. Charred examples from the Temple of Isis at Pompeii and a pinecone from the Temple of Mithras in London likely represent burnt offerings or incense deposits, suggesting that pinecones played a role in religious ceremonies.

Many of these pinecones are from the stone pine, a Mediterranean species. Its nuts were imported into Britain, although, it is possible that the tree was cultivated locally during the later Roman period. It is likely that the pinecones reproduced in Roman art and objects represent the larger stone pine rather than the smaller Scots pine familiar in Britain today.

Pinecones also feature widely in Roman art and architecture, especially on funerary monuments and temples. A notable carved example comes from a monument in a walled cemetery in Southwark. A striking example is the large pinecone sculpture displayed in the “Fountain of the Pinecone” in the Vatican, which stands nearly 4 metres tall. Carved pinecones are well-attested within temples dedicated to Mithras across the Roman Empire.

A terracotta pinecone found at Great Witcombe Roman Villa in Gloucestershire is thought to have been a roof ornament, possibly relating to local Mithraic worship. The symbolism of the pinecone is also associated with Bacchus, Silvanus, and the goddess Cybele and her consort Attis. Followers of Bacchus and Cybele carried a thyrsus, a ritual staff topped with a pinecone.