Details

LOT 0254

Roman Iron Gladius

1ST-2ND CENTURY A.D.

32 5/8 in. (557 grams, 83 cm).

Or semi-spatha blade with parallel-sided lentoid-section body and a long rectangular-section tang; Mainz type, Wederath-Canterbury-Kopki variant; repaired and surface treated.

Provenance

Ex South London collection, acquired 1970-1990.
The Kusmirek Collection, UK.

Accompanied by an academic report by Dr Raffaele D'Amato.

Literature

See Miks, C., Studien zur Romischen Schwertbewaffnung in der Kaiserzeit, I-II Banden, Rahden, 2007, p.637, no.A369, for similar specimen from Korytnica (Poland), found in 1999.

Footnotes

In contrast to the average length of the Roman Pompeii type gladius, some Roman swords, continuing the typology of the Mainz gladius, tend to be longer and transform themselves into a semi-spatha. Both the weapon from Eich (Miks, 2001, AI43), and especially a gladius from Korytnica with approximate blade length of 548mm (total length 762mm) is very close to the length limit of a semi-spatha. The same can be said of a blade from Godmanchester (Miks, 2001, no.A824) for its dimensions and proportions, where the tip of the blade already gives a significantly shorter impression, showing a certain relationship to 'Lauriacum-Hrornöwka', 'Mainz-Canterbury' variant type spathae.