Luristan Bronze Barbed Arrowhead

Of Oakeshott Type XII or XIII with a double-edged, well-balanced tapering blade, shallow fullers and a parallel-sided straight lower guard of cross style 2; medium tang and disc pommel of type K with chamfered sides; the blade with later inlaid markings, one side with Passau wolf, the other side with cross within a circle; cleaned and conserved. 1.39 kg, 95 cm

fine condition, restored.

Acquired 1990s-early 2000s. East Anglian private collection. Accompanied by an academic report by Dr Raffaele D'Amato.

The sword’s blade presents analogies with a sword of type XIIIa (Aleksic, 2007, pl.7,1) sharing the same type of pommel and the same length of the fuller. The sword, found in the Danube near the village Visnjica, is now in the City Museum, Belgrad, and presents a cross and a wolf impressed on the blade and inlaid with a yellow metal.

The fan-shaped cheeks leading to a convex cutting edge; rounded butt and flat in section. 120 grams, 22 cm



Acquired 1980-2015. Ex Abelita family collection.

Featuring a distinctively shaped ring at the end of the grip, double-edged relatively short blade and a tapered tip. 376 grams, 58 cm



Acquired 1990s-early 2000s. East Anglian private collection. Accompanied by an academic report by Dr Raffaele D'Amato.

This kind of sword - called by modern scholars as ringknaufschwert or ring-pommel sword - was firstly diffused amongst the auxiliary troops, probably Sarmatians and Germans, and then, during the 2nd century A.D., was also commonly used amongst the milites legionis and the officers. The shape of their blades is similar to the Pompey typology, but a slightly less acute angle characterises the passage from the blade to the short point. There were longer specimens like spatha, opening the transformation of the legionary gladius in the longer spatha specimens of the successive period, and also shorter specimens. An important dating element for earlier specimens is the sword from the Matrica grave, in Pannonia, dated exactly to 147 A.D. based on the other grave goods. Specimens of the second half of 2nd century A.D. are known from Wehringen and Geneva (180 A.D.). A specimen from Bosnia could be chronologically assigned to the same period, although such kind of swords became much more widespread for infantry and cavalry in later times. However, the importance of such swords has been recently associated with the rank of the provincial officers who used them, including miniature variations of such swords used as pendants as insignia badge of the staff of the Provincial governors. It was connected with the image of the sword and the dagger as a symbol of the Imperial power.