This is a Roman mirror, likely dating from the 2nd century AD, which was discovered during excavations carried out by the archaeological section of the Winchester Museums Service on Victoria Road, Winchester, in the mid to late 1970s.
The mirror was uncovered in a cremation burial located within the cemetery near the north gate of Roman Winchester. It was accompanied by an array of other items, including another mirror, three pottery vessels, a brooch, two beads (one made of glass and the other of amber), two cuffs (one crafted from ivory with a silver ring), a model of a wheel representing the Celtic god of heaven, Jupiter Taranis, and two glass jars designed for holding incense and food offerings in the form of pork or lamb. The cremated remains were enclosed in a wooden box, and remarkably, the metal fittings of the box have endured nearly 2,000 years of burial in the ground.
The handle of the mirror features a design resembling two opposing dragons with merged muzzles, a style of ornamentation primarily found in the northern regions of England, within what was then the tribal territories of the Parisi and the Brigantes. However, the mirror's relatively simple design suggests a later date compared to the brooches, likely placing it in the middle of the 2nd century rather than at the end of the 1st century. It's possible that the individuals interred in these graves were related, possibly from different generations of the same family.