The best explanation I’ve heard so far is that they were brasscrafter’s masterworks. Difficult to make, no useful purpose, created entirely to show the skill of the metalworker. Masterworks made to mark the of end apprenticeships were a Celtic practice but brass casting and shaping like this was from Rome so these areas were the two culture overlapped.

I had a cassette player in my Saturn that would turn the tape back about 2 seconds if you stopped and re-started it. It was the best feature ever.

deleted by creator