SPEARHEAD

An almost complete cast copper alloy, decorated socketed spearhead dating from the Late Bronze Age. The spearhead can be described as a pegged leaf-shaped socketed spearhead with lanceolet blade and circular sectioned mid-rib. It dates to the final phase of the Late Bronze Age or the very Early Iron Age; the Carp's Tongue Complex of c. 950-800 BC.

A full description of the object follows: The spearhead has a leaf-shaped blade, the edges of which are bevelled and still sharp. The very tip of the blade is broken and missing. There is an area of damage to the socket mouth, which is open and circular. The shaft tapers through the length of the spearhead to the broken top. The socket itself extends just over half the length of the head; this is a common feature on spearheads of this date. There are two round peg-holes located on the shaft just within the final band of decoration; it is unclear from a preliminary inspection whether these holes were made after the decoration had been incised, or before. The decoration consists of three sets of three incised lines around the circumference of the socket; the first row of three is located just above the mouth. The second set of lines is surmounted by punched decoration of two squares crowned by a triangle. This grouping of punched decoration is repeated around the circumference. The first two sets of decoration are incomplete because of the damage to the spearhead's mouth. The final set of decoration is virtually complete and again consists of the three rows of incised lines; this time having the repeating punched decoration of two squares and a triangle both above and below the lines. The two peg-holes are located within this band of decoration.

The spearhead has a blueish-green patina and the silver-tint to the object shows that the alloy has a high tin content. This is a very rare object and dates to the final phase of the Bronze Age, c. 950-800 BC. A small number of similar examples are known, with one similarly decorated object from the Reach Fen hoard (Evans 1881:319) and another held by the British Museum (Accession no. 1852,0626.86). Of examples from the Oxfordshire / Berkshire area (see Ehrenberg 1977), three with similar decoration are known; Ehrenberg's no. 41 from Culham, Oxon, no. 76 from Maidenhead, Berks (closest to the Wallingford example in decoration) and no. 144 from Windsor, Berks. The latter two were both found in the Thames.