10-13-2012, 10:04 PM
Quote:a) An Iron Age, late La Tene-type sword which was a chance find by a Roman soldier operating in the Durotriges area and kept as a "trophy" find. or b) A Romanised, late La Tene-type sword (by that I mean the property of a La Tene-influenced auxilary cavalryman) c) None of the above? (And if not, what else?)I cannot remember the precise circumstances of its discovery, but everyone seems happy to interpret it as a "Roman" loss, rather than a "British" loss. However, I think that its interpretation as a "spatha" is an invention of the re-enactment community -- I may be wrong (I frequently am) :whistle: -- anxious to categorize it as a particular type of Roman sword. My own belief is that the sword is a mixture of your (a) and (b), a genuine La Tène sword used by a "Celtic" auxiliary. (I am prepared to be persuaded otherwise, if the evidence supports an alternative interpretation.)
