A term referring to an artifact in the form of a ring, but with a small break at one point, used particularly for forms of brooch and torc. It means "not a complete ring". The penannular brooch was characteristic of Irish production; generally of great size and probably worn on the shoulder with the pin pointing upward it was decorated with interlaced patterns. It was the most common type of dress fastener of the sub-Roman period; it remained popular in Celtic regions of Britain up until the 10th century. There is an extensive typology for these ornaments and they vary in appearance from plain bronze or iron rings to elaborately inlaid and gilded examples such as the Tara brooch which was made around 700 AD in Ireland.