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LOT 1360
'The Customs House' Tudor Inscribed Iron Hammer-Head
16TH CENTURY A.D.
9 1/2 in. (2.82 kg, 24.2 cm).
Octagonal in section with one tapering end and one flat, circular end; square punch marks to one face in a pattern: '10B'. [No Reserve]
ProvenanceFound Thames foreshore, Customs House, London, UK, on Thursday 9th November 2006.
Accompanied by a copy of the British Museum's Portable Antiquities Scheme (PAS) report no.LON-D6B085.
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AUCTIONS:
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Byzantine 'Greek Fire' Ceramic Fire Bomb or Hand Grenade
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Piriform body with thick ribs to the shoulder and impressed panels between, domed filler-hole, intended to be filled with explosive liquid and wick, used as a hand grenade. 708 grams, 15 cm
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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. They were called μεσαία kακαβιά or κυτροκακάβια where the former had a bulbous shape and the latter a more cylindrical form.
