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SWORD
Unique ID: CORN-F13F72
Object type certainty: Certain
Workflow
status: Awaiting validation 
Fragment of a cast copper alloy sword blade, rectangular in plan and profile and lozenge-shaped in section. Both cutting edges are worn and incomplete and the perpendicular edges to these are broken so that the original length of the blade is unknown as well as the position of this fragment along it, though it is at the end that tapers towards the tip, as any raised area has flattened out in section. The smooth dark green patina survives better on one face of the blade than the other, which has an uneven surface of raised areas of corrosion product.
The lozenge-shaped section of the blade without a defined central mid-rib suggests that this might be part of a sword from the Late Wilburton or Ewart Park phases of the Late Bronze Age, c.1140-800 BC.
Needham & Rohl (1998) illustrate two similar lozenge-shaped sections of Ewart Park swords on page 135, Fig.37, Nos.386-7.
Pearce (1983) illustrates similar sections from a Ewart Park and a Late Wilburton sword, from Cranborne in Dorset, on page 665, Plate 104, Nos.365-6.
Subsequent actions
Subsequent action after recording: Returned to finder
Chronology
Broad period: BRONZE AGE
Subperiod from: Late
Period from: BRONZE AGE
Date from: Circa 1140 BC
Date to: Circa 800 BC
Dimensions and weight
Quantity: 1
Length: 30 mm
Width: 23 mm
Thickness: 6.3 mm
Weight: 21.77 g
Discovery dates
Date(s) of discovery: Tuesday 1st November 2011 - Wednesday 30th November 2011
Personal details
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Materials and construction
Primary material: Copper alloy
Manufacture method: Cast
Completeness: Fragment
Spatial metadata
Region: South West (European Region)County or Unitary authority: Cornwall (Unitary Authority)
District: Cornwall (Unitary Authority)
Parish or ward: St. Sampson (Civil Parish)
Spatial coordinates
4 Figure: SX1054
Four figure Latitude: 50.355174
Four figure longitude: -4.672329
1:25K map: SX1054
1:10K map: SX14SW
Grid reference source: From a paper map
Unmasked grid reference accurate to a 10 metre square.
References cited
| Author | Publication Year | Title | Publication Place | Publisher | Pages | Reference | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pearce, S.M. | 1983 | The Bronze Age Metalwork of South Western Britain | Oxford | British Archaeological Reports | 665, Plate 104, | Nos.365-6 | |
| Rohl, B. and Needham, S.P. | 1998 | The Circulation of Metal in the British Bronze Age: The Application of Lead Isotope Analysis | London | British Museum Press | 135, Fig.37, | Nos.386-7 |
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Timeline of associated dates
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