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Pitt Rivers Museum

1884.119.350

Bronze spearhead with wings, one of which has broken away completely. There are three drill marks.


1884.119.350

Digital asset copyright: Pitt Rivers Museum, University of Oxford

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Collection type
Object
Description
Bronze spearhead with wings, one of which has broken away completely. There are three drill marks.
Long description
Bronze spearhead (one 'wing' much broken).
Geographical reference
"Ireland": ie Ireland or Northern Ireland (UK)
Date / Period
Archaeological period: Middle Bronze Age
Date collected
By 1884
Acquisition information
Donated: 1884
Materials and processes
Material Copper Alloy Metal, Material Bronze Metal, Process Cast
Dimensions
Width: max 39 mm, Length: max 251 mm, Weight 213 g
Object numbers
Accession number: 1884.119.350
Research and responses

Pitt Rivers was in Ireland [serving in the Army] from 1862-66, this object may have been obtained during this period [Bowden, 1991: 60-4]. There are a large number of bronze objects from Ireland which are unmatched in the delivery catalogues, these can be found in PR Catalogue Part II [AP Leverhulme project on founding collection 1995-1998]

This object was looked at by Jim Lineen PhD (University College Cork) on 24 and 28 August 2015 [NC 28/08/2015]

Associated publications
Allen, I.M., Britton, D., and Coghlan, H.H., 1970, 'Metallurgical Reports on British and Irish Bronze Age Implements in the Pitt Rivers Museum', Occasional Papers on Technology 10, Oxford University Press, Oxford: 169 Socketed spearhead (It may originally have had side loops). Blade convex in outline, edges bevelled and sharpened, midrib keeled towards tip becoming rounded below with distinct rib extending along faces of socket below base of blade and between probable stumps of side loops. Surfaces variably preserved, with some recent abrasion part of midrib and most of one wing of blade broken away, other blade damaged along edge [Drawing] [Metallographic examination and analysis provided] [CMP 09/08/2010]

Search terms: Weapon, Spear-head