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Details
LOT 1501
Large Viking Age Iron Broken-Backed Knife 'Seax' Blade
8TH-10TH CENTURY A.D.
14 5/8 in. (208 grams, 37.5 cm).
With scooped forward edge, straight single edge and arched triangular back; transverse mounting tang. [No Reserve]
Provenance
From a North American collection formed in the 1970s-1990s.
This lot is accompanied by an illustrated lot declaration signed by the Head of the Antiquities Department, Dr Raffaele D'Amato.
Published
Exhibited at the Harwich Museum, Harwich, Essex, UK, 12th March-9th June 2025; accompanied by a copy of a photograph of the artefacts on display.
Literature
Cf. The British Museum's Portable Antiquities Scheme (PAS) no.GLO-B663A3, for a similar knife; and Underwood, R., Anglo-Saxon, Weapons & Warfare, Stroud, 1999, p.69.
Footnotes
This knife seems to be of type IV, like the one found in the Thames at Wandsworth. Based on its similarities with a specimen from Canterbury, it could be dated to the 8th century A.D. Underwood classifies these kind of knives under the typology C (angled back-curved cutting edge) dating them from the mid 6th to early 8th century A.D.
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