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Pieces of a clay mould for making swords

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From Jarlshof, Shetland

Pieces of a clay mould for making swords
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These pieces of a clay mould were found at Jarlshof in Shetland. They probably belong to the same mould, used to make a sword sometime between 950 and 750 BC.

Pieces survive for the hilt, middle and tip of the blade. The two raised bosses on the hilt would have produced rivet holes. The two halves (or valves) of the mould would have been secured together and molten metal poured into the channel at the top.

Excavations at Jarlshof have revealed evidence of bronze-working. A smith, trained in the Irish tradition of bronze-working, built a large hearth in the centre of a house and set up a workshop. Finds include awls, chisels, clay moulds, crucibles and slag.

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