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Details
LOT 0256
Roman Iron Spatha Sword
3RD-4TH CENTURY A.D.
32 5/8 in. (652 grams, 83 cm).
Comprising a wide double-edged blade of Illerup-Wyhl typology; blood channels and later inlays to both sides.
Provenance
Acquired 1990s-early 2000s.
East Anglian private collection.
Literature
Cf. Miks, C., Studien zur Romischen Schwertbewaffnung in der Kaiserzeit, I-II Banden, Rahden, 2007, nos.A321,12,13, from Illerup Adal.
Footnotes
Specimens of Roman spathae of 2nd-3rd centuries have been found in large numbers in Danish bogs (Nydam, Straubing, Thorsberg, Illerup). The Straubing-Nydam type shows straight and convergent cutting edges, the width of which is reduced along the blade.
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