Sword (piece)

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This bronze sword was found in Dumfriesshire. It is part of a prestigious possession, used sometime between 950 and 750 BC.

The piece is from a leaf-shaped sword. The hilt plate is broken, but preserves two rivet holes in each wing for securing a handle. The tip is also broken off.

Prestigious weapons such as swords are sometimes found broken or placed in special places such as water where they were unlikely to have been placed for safekeeping. Such deposits may be offerings to the gods, ritually destroyed as part of a ceremony we can only guess at.

Record details

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• Online ID: 000-100-034-403-C
• Image Rights Holder: National Museums Scotland
• Project: National Museums Scotland
  Project description   View all records in project
• Ref: National Museums Scotland  X.DL 30
• Date: Between 950 and 750 BC
  
• Material: Bronze; leaf-shaped
  Sword / portion
  
• Dimensions: 10.50" L
  
• What: Sword / portion
  
• Subject:
• Who:
• Where: Scotland, Dumfriesshire
  
• Event:
• Description: Portion of a bronze leaf-shaped sword from Dumfriesshire
  
• References:
  • Coles, John M. Scottish late Bronze Age metalwork: typology, distributions and chronology. Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland, 93 (1959-1960), pp 16-134, esp. 83. 
• Translations:
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