Luristan Bronze Dirk

Having foliate blade with central rib and slender shoulders, cylindrical short shaft encasing a rectangular tang with a bent end. 151 grams, 26.5 cm



Acquired 1980-2015. Ex Abelita family collection.

This variant is characterised by a blade of rhomboidal or swollen section, an intermediate part often short widened so as to form a clear stop and a curved bristle at its end, sometimes finished in a button. Most lances are of medium dimensions (23 cm to 36 cm), others are very elongated (more than 50 cm). The best parallels come from Tepe Hissar. Elements of handles found nearby the spearheads in the excavations have made it possible to reconstruct the total length of the weapon (1.40 m).

Piriform body with domed filler-hole, marked by horizontal lines to the shoulder; intended to be filled with explosive liquid and wick, used as a hand grenade. 355 grams, 10.3 cm



Acquired 1980-2015. Ex Abelita family collection. 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. Such were the γανωτα, vessels (sometimes also of bronze) used for Greek fire. They were called μεσαία kακαβιά or κυτροκακάβια where the former had a bulbous shape and the latter a more cylindrical form.

A section of a double-edged long sword (spatha) of Illerup-Wyhl typology; half of the blade still intact with the tang created in later times by shortening a part of the blade; narrow parallel cutting edges tapering towards the point; both sides showing pattern-welding in form of ZS stripes and torsion technique B.II.1.2. 287 grams, 54.6 cm



Ex private collection of Mr M.B., Mainz, Germany, since the 1980s. Acquired from the above, 2004. This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by search certificate no.11976-210915.

Dr Miks refers to the spathae of the 'lllerup-Wyhl' type I as to a large group of blades which in terms of their proportions, dimensions and shape, are probably a mixture of blades of the more classical 'Straubing-Nydam' and 'Lauriacum-Hromowka' types of long Roman swords. They are one of the most complicated category of late Roman swords and therefore difficult to clearly identify. The chosen double designation (lllerup-Wyhl) takes into account the circumstance that the blades of this category could be identified in a lighter, narrower shape, with several representatives in the concentration ‘C’ of the moor finds from lllerup Ädal (Miks, 2007, A321), while heavy and broad specimens may be visible, like the well-preserved blade from body grave 22 of a late Roman influenced grave field in Wyhl (Miks, 2007, A798).