The double-edged weapon with the long narrow tube (αὐλός) was judged to be a dagger-knife, the hollow being intended to save weight; to me it appears a lance-head, and the attached ring seems to prove its use (fig. 247). The fragmentary two-edged blade of bronze (_a_ fig. 249) shows a mid-rib broken by serrations intended either for ornament or for jagging the wound: the same toothings appear in another weapon (_b_ fig. 249), which is supposed to be a dagger. No. 446 is a short two-edged blade showing at the shoulders, on either side, four large flat head-pins of gold. A gold plate extends all along the middle part of the blade on both sides, and fragments of the wooden sheath are visible in the middle as well as at the end. [Illustration: FIG. 249.—TWO-EDGED BRONZE SWORDS AND ALABASTER KNOB. (Sepulchre IV. Mycenæ.)] We now come to the most startling part of the collection. It proves indubitably, if Dr. Schliemann’s conclusions be correct, and if the blades[816] do not belong, as they may do, to a later date, that the highest form of Sword, which became the fashion during our sixteenth century, was known in B.C. 1200. It is a curious comment upon the fact, how soon perfection was reached in the ‘White Arm,’ compared with the slow progress of firearms, which had to await the invention of the self-igniting cartridge. Plate No. 445 (p. 281) gives a two-edged blade with a mid-rib, in fact the rapier, which can be used only for the point. It measures two feet seven inches (_a_ fig. 250), and at the top are attached remnants of its wooden scabbard. The lower end of its neighbour (_b_ fig. 250) is adorned with three flat golden pin-heads on either face. No. 448, measuring two feet ten inches long, is very well preserved; by its side lies its alabaster pommel (fig. 249). No. 449 has retained part of its heft, which is gold-plated and attached by gold pins. Vertical lines of intaglio work run along the blade and give it a truly beautiful aspect. Dr. Schliemann (p. 283) notices the length, in some cases exceeding three feet, compared with the narrowness of these grand blades. He adds, ‘So far as I know, Swords of this shape have never been found before.’ I would refer him to the Villanova (Etruscan) blade described in chapter viii.