Bronze Age Sword-Shaped Pendant

Short tubular socket with thickened rim, perpendicular short blade with convex cutting edge to the rear, and a larger triangular-section blade with curving blade to the front. 675 grams, 16.5 cm



Ex Abelita family collection, 1980s-2000s.

The earliest axes-adzes from the 3rd millennium B.C. were weapons and tools furnished with socket holes. Usually, the socket is a more secure way of attaching the object to a wooden haft than having a simple tang. These weapons developed into a plethora of forms in the 2nd millennium B.C., and the numerous new forms were used until at least 800 B.C.

Ovoid in profile with a domed filler hole, a circumferential line above the shoulder; intended to be filled with explosive liquid and a wick, and used as a hand grenade. 474 grams, 14.6 cm



From an important specialist collection, London, UK, 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.

Comprising a leaf-shaped blade with a midrib and a long tapering socket; accompanied by a display stand, repaired. 365 grams total, spearhead: 36.5 cm (38.2 cm including stand)



Ex Abelita family collection, 1980s-2000s.

The spear, belonging to type 3 of the Khorasani classification, was used by chariot fighters to strike each other or the enemy infantry from above. Similar specimens with longer sockets were excavated by Negahban in the Amlash area. According to Moorey, sockets as long, if not longer than the blade, are a characteristic of Iranian spearheads in the late 2nd and early 1st millennium B.C. A similar spearhead from the Tappeh Sialk has been dated to the 9th-7th century B.C.