Very Nice quality large ad heavy bronze Roman crossbow fibula, class III, ca.300-370 AD. It has a thick long body decorated with lines. This piece is intact but the pin enclosure has a crack in it, with an intact pin. 67mm long, 40mm wide, 21mm high, 26.02 grams. Found in Hungary.Recovered from water. A crack on the pin enclosure.A Fibula (Latin "to fasten") is an ancient brooch. Technically, the Latin term fibulae refers specifically to Roman brooches, however, the term is widely used to refer to brooches from the entire ancient and early medieval world that continue Roman forms. Unlike most modern brooches, fibulae were not only decorative, they originally served a practical function: to fasten clothes, including cloaks. Fibulae replaced straight pins that were used to fasten clothing in the Neolithic period and Bronze Age. In turn, fibulae were replaced as clothing fasteners in the Middle Ages by buttons. Their descendant, the modern safety-pin, remains in use today.