Kessel-Lith Sword

[Conal]

Byron: although my research into this project indicated that the only remains found with these particular scabbards were the bronze front plates, as shown in the second image above, indicating that the remainder of the scabbards must have been organic

I think "must have been" is a leap of faith in these circumstances as it seems equally (if I were being bold I would say probable) that only the front plates were deposited.

Celtic scabbards had a wooden liner with a back plate which wrapped around the front of the wooden core so that it formed a shallow C curve. Into this was slotted the front plate held in place by the scabbard tip shoe. Looking at the scabbard plates above they seem pretty standard La Tene fare and are slim like those which would slot into a back plate rather than be fixed onto a leather scaccard.

This being so your interpretation indicates that either the back plates were dispensed with, for what ever reason, and the friont plates used on a new scabbard more suitable to local tastes or that only front plates were obtained and used accordingly.

I'm not saying its not possible that this happened just that I would question the premis that because what you would usually find was not there, there must have been something in its place as opposed to nothing.