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Hi all
Now if this thread subject allready exists, then im sorry and moderators please remove.
Whilst "browsing" the internet for specific items i came across this site....
On this site there is listed. approx a quarter of the way down, a Pugio that was found in Devon..i presume this means Devon in the UK as no other Devons are existing on the continent/Roman Empire.
Now i do take into account that this is a web sales page in the USA, i know not of the date it was created or updated, so the information is at least dubious/questionable.
BUT...just but this info is correct, was a Pugio found in Devon that allways stayed under the "radar", maybee back in the 16/17/18 centuries....who knows.
Is there a very slim chance that this is the Pugio to accompany the Exeter sheath?
Before i dig my hole too deep i think advice is needed from Pugio specialists such as Crispvs.
Attached is the pic of said Pugio.
Thanks for reading
Kevin
I have wondered about this particular pugio for some time myself. The blade looks right, but the handle makes me uneasy about its authenticity. There does not seem to be the expected space in which to accommodate the two inner (organic) plates, but it is possible that expansion of the iron of the tang and/or the grip plates due to oxidation might be responsible for this.
The central expansion is extremely large and to my mind would be fairly uncomfortable in the hand. Genuine pieces however, are often far less uniform in both size and positioning than modern reconstructions would normally have people believe and so with some reservation I would accept that the large central expansion does not rule out its possible authenticity.
What I am most suspicious of though, is the apparently uniform thickness of the grip plates along their length. Normally we would expect to see the grip plates at their thickest at the central expansion and becoming progressively thinner towards both the guard and the pommel expansion, where they are normally quite thin. Although it looks as though the plates on this piece do become thinner at the guard (it is difficult to be completely sure from the photos) that does not seem to be the case with the pommel expansion, which is suspicious. It is possible though that oxide expansion could explain this.
There is nothing therefore which proves that this piece is not genuine and it may indeed be a genuine one, but as I hope I have shown, there are reasons to be suspicious. A proper published report, including x-ray analysis, is what is really needed but to the best of my knowledge it has not been published anywhere or subjected to expert analysis. I have a recollection that the owner of this pugio is a RAT member so if that is indeed the case perhaps he might be able to tell us more. I would certainly like to know the provenance of the piece (and as far as I am concerned that would not include such statements as "From a private collection" or "Previously sold through [add name here] auction house"), which might (or equally might not) tell us a lot.
Regarding the type of pugio associated with the Exeter sheath, of the frame type sheaths I am aware of (Titelburg, Exeter, Tarent and two (or maybe three, depending on whether the fragments making up the second one actually came from more than one sheath) from Dangstetten, only the Titelburg and Tarent examples retain their daggers. Of these the Tarent dagger is still rusted into its sheath (to the best of my knowledge, that is), meaning its exact form is difficult to determine, although interestingly the handle appears to have had a cruciform pommel expansion.
The presence of the Exeter sheath in Britain however, means it was in use at least as late as the mid AD40s, by which time both type 'A' and 'B' sheaths were in common usage. As both type 'A' and type 'B' blades were associated with both these types it is probable that both would have been associated with frame type sheaths as well. Slightly OT I know, but it is possible that type 'C' blades may have been associated with type 'B(ii)' sheaths.
The overall shape of the Exeter sheath is similar to that of the Titelburg sheath, so it could easily have accommodated a pugio similar to the Titelburg pugio, although as I said above, I think you could legitimately associate it with a type 'B' blade as well.
I hope that this is of some use to you and has not confused the picture too much.
Crispvs
Who is called \'\'Paul\'\' by no-one other than his wife, parents and brothers. :!: <img src="{SMILIES_PATH}/icon_exclaim.gif" alt=":!:" title="Exclamation" />:!:
