12-28-2004, 08:28 PM
Hi,<br>
<br>
Here’s another update on my research-efforts. I didn’t have much time this last month, but I have some news for Crispus on daggers in Belgium. This type of military item seems to have been equally rare as plumbatae in our regions. I think the territory of present day Belgium was situated a little bit to far from the limes to be of any significance for major military activity.<br>
Still a rather well preserved dagger was found in ‘s Gravenvoeren (this is near the border with the Netherlands and Germany). It is now in the Royal Musea for Art and History in Brussels. The sheath was missing. The blade and the handle type suggest a dating in the early first century AD. A description and line-drawings can be found in JRMES 7,1996, p.66-67.<br>
<br>
A rather peculiar incomplete dagger-blade was found during excavations in 1994-1996 in Velzeke (province of East-Flanders). It was found in a pit together with 5 (heavily corroded) bronze coins and a small engraved stone statue (stylized figure). Other pits in the vicinity are clearly related to sacral-ritual functions (bronze Mercury-statuette e.g.), but other archaeological features in the same area contained military items like an umbo and two heavily corroded iron tangs that could well be pila. So I’m not even sure if this is a military dagger (the shape doesn’t fit any description I ever saw of a military dagger). Can anybody shed some light on this little mystery?<br>
<br>
<img src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v314/hansvl/allerlei/dolk.jpg" style="border:0;"/><br>
<br>
P.S. for Robert<br>
I still don’t have an answer from the archaeologists in Tongeren about plumbatae.<br>
<p></p><i>Edited by: <A HREF=http://p200.ezboard.com/bromanarmytalk.showUserPublicProfile?gid=hansvl@romanarmytalk>hansvl</A> at: 12/28/04 9:29 pm<br></i>
<br>
Here’s another update on my research-efforts. I didn’t have much time this last month, but I have some news for Crispus on daggers in Belgium. This type of military item seems to have been equally rare as plumbatae in our regions. I think the territory of present day Belgium was situated a little bit to far from the limes to be of any significance for major military activity.<br>
Still a rather well preserved dagger was found in ‘s Gravenvoeren (this is near the border with the Netherlands and Germany). It is now in the Royal Musea for Art and History in Brussels. The sheath was missing. The blade and the handle type suggest a dating in the early first century AD. A description and line-drawings can be found in JRMES 7,1996, p.66-67.<br>
<br>
A rather peculiar incomplete dagger-blade was found during excavations in 1994-1996 in Velzeke (province of East-Flanders). It was found in a pit together with 5 (heavily corroded) bronze coins and a small engraved stone statue (stylized figure). Other pits in the vicinity are clearly related to sacral-ritual functions (bronze Mercury-statuette e.g.), but other archaeological features in the same area contained military items like an umbo and two heavily corroded iron tangs that could well be pila. So I’m not even sure if this is a military dagger (the shape doesn’t fit any description I ever saw of a military dagger). Can anybody shed some light on this little mystery?<br>
<br>
<img src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v314/hansvl/allerlei/dolk.jpg" style="border:0;"/><br>
<br>
P.S. for Robert<br>
I still don’t have an answer from the archaeologists in Tongeren about plumbatae.<br>
<p></p><i>Edited by: <A HREF=http://p200.ezboard.com/bromanarmytalk.showUserPublicProfile?gid=hansvl@romanarmytalk>hansvl</A> at: 12/28/04 9:29 pm<br></i>
Flandria me genuit, tenet nunc Roma
. He'll be defending his work for the jury next monday... I'll try to contact him and ask him if it would be possible to put his work online (there is some kind of project that tries to get as many thesisses online as possible).
