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Spearhead

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from Kiloran Bay, Colonsay, Inner Hebrides

Spearhead
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This iron spearhead was found in a man's grave at Kiloran Bay on Colonsay in the Inner Hebrides. He was buried in a boat between 875 and 925 with a range of Scandinavian weapons, tools and a pin, together with his horse.

The spearhead is fragmentary and very corroded. X-ray analysis has shown that it was fixed to its shaft with bronze pegs, and that the socket was ornamented with groups of engraved lines. The spearhead is unusually long.

Spears found in Viking graves range from plain examples to objects with more ornate sockets, as in this example. As is the case with axes and arrowheads, it is often difficult to determine whether they were intended as weapons.

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