The Ancient Bronze Implements, Weapons, and Ornaments, of Great Britain and Ireland.Evans, John
History
The Ancient Bronze Implements, Weapons, and Ornaments, of Great Britain and Ireland.
Evans, John
Bronze age -- Great Britain; Bronze age -- Ireland; Great Britain -- Antiquities
In the Arreton Down hoard there was a single example of a weapon of
this kind which was provided with a socket for the insertion of a
handle or shaft, instead of having a tang. Fig. 328 is copied from the
engraving published in the _Archæologia_.[967] As will be observed,
the socket part is made to abut on the blade, much after the manner of
a dagger handle, and has cast upon it two bosses in imitation of the
heads of rivets for securing the blade. A weapon (8¼ inches), which
there can hardly be a doubt is the original from which Sir Charles
Frederick made his drawing for the Society of Antiquaries, is now
in Canon Greenwell’s collection, and I know of no other example. It
differs from the socketed knives in the character of the blade, which
is thicker and more highly ornamented, like some of the daggers from
the Wiltshire barrows. Whether it was itself intended to be a dagger,
or whether it was the head of a spear or lance, I will not attempt to
determine.
What has somewhat the appearance of being a weapon of the same
character was found in a moss near Campbeltown,[968] Argyleshire,
together with a bronze sword. It may, however, as already suggested,
be merely a socketed knife.
A very beautiful weapon of this kind is in the museum at Lausanne. The
blade is ornamented somewhat in the same manner as that of Fig. 328.
The socket is shorter and ornamented with parallel rings and bands
of triangles, alternately hatched and plain. There appear to be six
rivets, and what may be termed the hilt has a deep half-oval notch in
it, like that which is common on swords and daggers. The margin of
this notch is decorated with punctured dots. It was, I believe, found
near Sion, Valais, with portions of what may have been the ornaments
of a sheath, and also with a long narrow celt, flanged at the upper
part. The general resemblance between the Swiss and the English
specimens is very remarkable.
An Egyptian[969] blade, with the side edges slightly curved inwards,
and with the socket rather shorter than in Fig. 328, is in the museum
at Boulaq. It is attached to the socket by three rivets.
[Illustration: Fig. 329.—Årup. ⅓]
The second series of blades of which it is proposed to treat in this
chapter are usually from six to sixteen inches long, rather broad at
the base, and not unfrequently curved longitudinally. This latter
circumstance, as well as their shape and weight, proves that some of
these broad blades were not intended for use as daggers; and this being
admitted, it seems to follow that others, which resemble the curved
blades in all respects except their curvature, must be regarded as
belonging to the same class of weapons. What these weapons were may
I think be best shown by some examples from Scandinavia and Northern
Germany, which also show the manner in which similar blades were
attached to their shafts so as to form a kind of halberd or battle-axe.
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