Details

LOT 0556

Roman Iron Knife with Bone Handle

1ST-4TH CENTURY A.D.

6 7/8 in. (38.1 grams, 17.5 cm).

With single-edged blade gently curving towards the tip; applied bone handle with diagonally striated banding. [No Reserve]

Provenance

Found near Wetwang, East Yorkshire, UK.
Acquired from the finder in 2007.
Property of a Nottinghamshire gentleman.

Literature

Cf. Crummy, N., Greep, S., Hassall, M., Henig, M., Major, H., Webster, G., Wild, J.P., Colchester Archaeological Report 2: the Roman small finds from excavations in Colchester 1971-1979, Colchester, 1983, nos.2935 (handle) and 2974 (knife).

Footnotes

Tools which cannot be assigned to one of the more specific categories, such as agricultural or military equipment especially knife blades, tool handles, and hones. Three methods of attaching a handle to the tang of a knife or tool are distinguishable in the Roman culter. Rivetting was used on two-piece handles (like in our specimen). Driving the tang into the marrow-cavity of the bone, which was usually packed with wood-shavings, so that the irregularities of cancellous tissue and the wood-shavings prevented the tang from twisting or slipping out (often a collar was also used with this method). Lastly, the tang could be fixed to the handle by means of an iron clip.