What is the Hod Hill spatha - IA or Roman?

[Caballo]

I'm not sure that the break needs to be interpreted as definitely a deposition mark. There are references IIRC in the litereature to Celtic swords bending and being straightened out on the field of battle (Polybius-
'...they (the swords) are effective only at the first blow; thereafter they are blunt and bent so the warrior has not time to wedge it against the ground and straighten it with his foot, the second blow is quite ineffective.' There is also a reference in Plutarch, I think.)

Recent metallurgical analysis of Celtic swords has made writers doubt Polybius and Plutarch, but there is other evidence of long-bladed swords bending during battle from later periods. The Icelandic Eyrbyggja saga, describes a warrior straightening his twisted sword underfoot in a manner similar to Polybius's account: "whenever he struck a shield, his ornamented sword would bend, and he had to put his foot on it to straighten it out". Peirce and Oakeshott in Swords of the Viking Age note that the potential for bending may have been built in to avoid shattering, writing that "a bending failure offers a better chance of survival for the sword's wielder than the breaking of the blade...there was a need to build a fail-safe into the construction of a sword to favor bending over breaking".

"The other question is, are the other items scabbard mouth guards too and not hilt guards? " I think (from the attachment ) that A2, A3, and A$ are hilt guards since they show a clear mark either side of the mouth where the blade would fit (and be indented from peening?).


If I'm correct that A2, A3 and A4 are all scabbard mouth guards, then their find spots may solve the question of whether they were the property of a La Tene-influenced auxilary infantryman or cavalryman. If they were found in the auxillary fort, the evidence seems to mount that these were used by Roman auxillaries.

I suppose they could have been ALL trophies, but think that the Roman auxillary explanation is more probable. I don't have the original report- could you get access to it?

A5 below though can't be a hilt guard because of its construction and so I would interpret it as a scabbard mouth.


Could it have come off an all metal construction? I suppose so, but I think its unlikely because it looks very "clean" on the drawing ( though I haven't seen the original).

Cheers

Paul