Rights Holder: Lincolnshire County Council
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MINIATURE OBJECT
Unique ID: LIN-5C0401
Object type certainty: Certain
Workflow
status: Published 
A Roman copper alloy miniature sword. The model is flat, and comprises a rectangular handle with an oval pommel and guard. The blade is also rectangular, though slightly wider than the grip. The blade maintains the same width along most of its length. The terminal is pointed. The object has been bent back on itself two thirds of the way along the blade. It is unclear whether this was an intentional act done just before deposition, or whether it is post-deposition damage. There is green-red patina on the surface.
Kiernan lists several swords in his study of Roman miniature objects (Kiernan 2009: 53ff). Two of these had been intentionally bent in the middle (ibid. p.54). Kiernon notes that the relationship between model swords and real weapons is difficult to assess owing to the fact that the models did not adhere to a consistent ratio of reduction. He further notes that it is unclear how accurately certain diagnostic elements of Roman and Celtic swords were copied (ibid. 55). A broad date of Late Iron Age to Roman is therefore assigned to the present example.
Class: sword
Subsequent actions
Subsequent action after recording: Returned to finder
Chronology
Broad period: ROMAN
Period from: ROMAN
Period to: ROMAN
Date from: Circa AD 43
Date to: Circa AD 100
Dimensions and weight
Quantity: 1
Length: 36 mm
Width: 4 mm
Thickness: 1 mm
Weight: 1.43 g
Discovery dates
Date(s) of discovery: Monday 16th November 2015
Personal details
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Materials and construction
Spatial metadata
Region: East Midlands (European Region)County or Unitary authority: Lincolnshire (County)
District: East Lindsey (District)
To be known as: Ulceby
Spatial coordinates
Grid reference source: From finder
Unmasked grid reference accurate to a 10 metre square.
References cited
| Author | Publication Year | Title | Publication Place | Publisher | Pages | Reference | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kiernan, P. | 2009 | Miniature Votive Offerings in the North-west Provinces of the Roman Empire. Mentor Bd. 4. | Mainz | Verlag Franz Philipp Rutzen |
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Timeline of associated dates
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