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LOT 1352
Anglo-Saxon Iron Socketted Spearhead
6TH-8TH CENTURY A.D.
10 1/4 in. (159 grams, 26 cm).
Lentoid-section narrow blade with thick shoulder, closed socket; Swanton's Group I2. [No Reserve]
ProvenanceFound near Wetwang, East Yorkshire, UK.
Acquired circa 2005.
Ian Wilkinson collection, Nottinghamshire, UK.
Exhibited at Harwich Museum, Harwich, Essex, UK, 14th March-9th June 2024; accompanied by a copy of a photograph of the artefact on display.
LiteratureCf. Swanton, M.J. Spearheads of the Anglo-Saxon Settlements, London, 1973, fig.47.
FootnotesThe spear-heads of group I2 belong to a larger number of blades with more slender and regularly curved leaf-shapes than previous types. The majority present profiles more regularly curved from junction to tip, the broader part of the blade near the middle, with the fuller comformably longer. All of the group are much of the length varying between some 25 and 35 cm.
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Elamite Socketted Spearhead
1st millennium B.C.Estimate: £300 - 400 (+bp*)
Opening Bid: £167
With tapering split socket, stepped shoulders and two-edged triangular head; pronounced midrib, bands of low-relief chevron and braid detailing, attachment pin. 180 grams, 28 cm
From a Mayfair, London, gallery, 1990s. -
Byzantine 'Greek Fire' Ceramic Fire Bomb or Hand Grenade
9th-11th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £98
Piriform body with lattice to upper body and impressed bands to shoulder, domed filler-hole, intended to be filled with explosive liquid and wick, used as a hand grenade. 644 grams, 12.8 cm
From a specialist collection of militaria, London, UK, collected 1990s onwards. Accompanied by an academic paper by military specialist Dr Raffaele D'Amato, dated 15 July 2019 and titled 'Eastern Roman Empire - Greek Fire Bomb or Hand Grenade (μεσαίον kακάβιον) 9th-11th century AD'.
Apart from the use of siphons or manual flame-throwers called cheirosiphona, special corps of Roman soldiers employed terracotta grenades, in the form of small jars, abundantly evidenced in archaeological excavations. They were called μεσαία kακαβιά or κυτροκακάβια where the former had a bulbous shape and the latter a more cylindrical form. -
Anglo-Saxon Socketted Iron Spearhead
5th-6th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £98
Lentoid-section broad leaf-shaped blade with thick neck and split socket; Swanton's Group D1. 215 grams, 24.4 cm
Found near Wetwang, East Yorkshire, UK. Acquired circa 2005. Ian Wilkinson collection, Nottinghamshire, UK.
The chronological range of the type D1 extends over the entire Pagan period. With the group C1, of which Swanton believed this might simply be a long-socketted variant, the typology did not survive the 7th century A.D.
