Rights Holder: The Portable Antiquities Scheme
CC License:
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Unique ID: BH-6F439A
Object type certainty: Certain
Workflow
status: Awaiting validation
An incomplete cast copper-alloy Bronze Age blade fragment from a spear or dagger. The fragment is broadly rectangular in shape and lentoid in cross-section, with gradually tapering sides. The long edges are worn and uneven, being damaged in several places. The breaks at each end are old, worn and patinated, suggesting they occurred in antiquity. Both faces of the blade have etched decoration along the long edges in the form of four or five linear grooves. The area of the blade between this decoration is undecorated and plain in appearance.
The blade fragment is very worn and abraded. The surfaces are pitted and rough, with some lamination in places.
The patina is mid-green in colour and evenly distributed, with small sparse patches of mid-brown across the surfaces.
The blade fragment measures 33.08mm in length, a maximum of 20.94mm in width and a maximum of 5.56mm in thickness. It weighs 14.70 grams.
Peter Reavill, Finds Liaison Officer for Shropshire, suggests that the blade is most likely the tip of a Late Bronze Age (c. 1100-800 BC) spearhead decorated with grooves, or possibly, based on the decoration, a fragment from an earlier object - such as an arreton / Snowshill dagger of the Early Bronze Age III (c. 1600-1400 BC), though these are very rare and thus more unlikely (e.g. HAMP-C13678).
Notes:
The finder reports that this was found within a few feet of BH-C4785A, which may or may not be related.
Subsequent action after recording: Returned to finder
Broad period: BRONZE AGE
Subperiod from: Middle
Period from: BRONZE AGE
Subperiod to: Late
Period to: BRONZE AGE
Date from: Circa 1100 BC
Date to: Circa 800 BC
Quantity: 1
Length: 33.08 mm
Width: 20.94 mm
Thickness: 5.56 mm
Weight: 14.7 g
Date(s) of discovery: Thursday 2nd September 2021 - Thursday 2nd September 2021
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Primary material: Copper alloy
Manufacture method: Cast
Decoration style: Linear
Completeness: Fragment
Surface Treatment: Incised or engraved or chased
4 Figure: TL0206
Four figure Latitude: 51.7434283
Four figure longitude: -0.5240518
1:25K map: TL0206
1:10K map: TL00NW
Grid reference source: GPS (from the finder)
Unmasked grid reference accurate to a 1 metre square.
No references cited so far.