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ESS-49CEF6: Fragment of Late Bronze Age sword

Rights Holder: Colchester Museums
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Rights Holder: Colchester Museums
CC License:
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Rights Holder: Colchester Museums
CC License:
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SWORD

Unique ID: ESS-49CEF6

Object type certainty: Certain
Workflow status: Published Find published

Fragment of a late Bronze Age copper alloy sword. The blade fragment is 85.1mm long and 39.7mm wide. It is 8mm thick at the hilt end, tapering to 7.1mm at the blade tip end. It weighs 111.12g. In section the blade is lenticular, with a rounded midrib. There is just the suspicion of a concave outer section that terminates in a bevelled edge, which has been eaten away by corrosion. Five short curved dents set close together on the midrib look like an attempt to fracture the blade in antiquity. Both ends of the blade have been severed from the rest of the weapon by neat removals perpendicular to the midrib. This fragment comes from somewhere between the widest part of the sword and the blade tip. The fragment has been treated since discovery and has a dark green patina with patches of shinier bronze. Blade fragments are not always easy to assign to a sword type because diagnostic features may be lacking (Needham 1990,49), but in this case the likelihood must be that we are dealing with a Ewart Park sword (Colquhoun & Burgess 1988,55-68), with which its typology is entirely consistent.

Notes:

This fragment is from a founder's hoard previously recorded in 1993.

Class: Ewart Park

Subsequent actions

Subsequent action after recording: Returned to finder

Chronology

Broad period: BRONZE AGE
Period from: BRONZE AGE
Date from: 1040 BC
Date to: 800 BC

Dimensions and weight

Quantity: 1
Length: 85.1 mm
Width: 39.7 mm
Thickness: 8 mm
Weight: 111.12 g

Personal details

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Materials and construction

Primary material: Copper alloy
Manufacture method: Cast
Completeness: Fragment

Spatial metadata

Region: Eastern (European Region)
County or Unitary authority: Essex (County)
District: Colchester (District)
To be known as: Fingringhoe

Spatial coordinates


Grid reference source: From finder
Unmasked grid reference accurate to a 10 metre square.

Discovery metadata

Method of discovery: Metal detector
General landuse: Cultivated land

References cited

Author Publication Year Title Publication Place Publisher Pages Reference
Colquhoun, I. and Burgess, C.B. 1988 The Swords of Britain Munich Pr 55-68
Needham, S.P. 1990 The Petters Late Bronze Age Metalwork: An Analytical Study of Thames Valley Metalworking in its Settlement Context London British Museum Press

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Timeline of associated dates

Audit data

Recording Institution: ESS
Created: 19 years ago
Updated: 13 years ago

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