Rights Holder: Kent County Council
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DAGGER
Unique ID: KENT-5ED811
Object type certainty: Certain
Workflow
status: Awaiting validation 
A worn cast hollow copper-alloy pommel from a 'Ballock' type dagger of late medieval to 16th century date.
Description: The pommel is hollow and circular in plan with a flan on the inner face, which would have fitted over the bottom of the handle. The hollow contains remains of iron corrosion and this extends onto the upper face, likely due to rivet remains.. The upper face is divided into six rounded segments. The outer side has a segmented decorative motif formed by 8 incised lines diagnoally placed in clockwise and eminating from the rivet hole. The pommel is worn and it is a dark brown colour.
Measurements: 29.14mm in diameter, 10.62mm thick and 8.69g in weight.
Description: The ballock dagger had a long history and could be found throughout the British Isles and continental Europe. Early effigies and brasses prove that the ballock dagger was a knightly weapon while later more elaborate daggers suggest that it was also a weapon of the emerging merchant and artisan classes. There are also some very simple and crude examples which would probably have been used by the peasantry. Though still popular throughout the 16th century, by the beginning of the 17th century the ballock dagger's use and production waned.
See PUBLIC-0EB9F4, LON-BC8AE0 and LON-1EB86B for more complete examples, although many are missing their pommels
Class:
Pommel
Sub class: Ballock
Subsequent actions
Subsequent action after recording: Returned to finder
Chronology
Broad period: MEDIEVAL
Period from: MEDIEVAL
Period to: POST MEDIEVAL
Date from: Circa AD 1350
Date to: Circa AD 1600
Dimensions and weight
Quantity: 1
Thickness: 10.62 mm
Weight: 8.69 g
Diameter: 29.14 mm
Personal details
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Materials and construction
Primary material: Copper alloy
Secondary material: Iron
Manufacture method: Cast
Decoration style: Geometric
Completeness: Complete
Spatial metadata
Region: South East (European Region)County or Unitary authority: Kent (County)
District: Folkestone and Hythe (District)
Parish or ward: Brenzett (Civil Parish)
Spatial coordinates
4 Figure: TR0026
Four figure Latitude: 50.99862554
Four figure longitude: 0.84893852
1:25K map: TR0026
1:10K map: TR02NW
Grid reference source: GPS (from the finder)
Unmasked grid reference accurate to a 10 metre square.
References cited
No references cited so far.
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Timeline of associated dates
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