Spears found in Britain

Spears found in Britain
Found in Britain
Axes found in Britain   Langseaxes found in Britain   Picture stones from the Isle of Man   Seaxes found in Britain   Shields found in Britain   Spears found in Britain   Swords found in Britain   Viking burials found in England   Viking burials found in Scotland   Viking burials found in the Isle of Man   Viking burials found in Wales

More Found in Britain pages

This article's completion rating is 1 out of 5. Article planned for future work. No real progress to date.

This article's completion rating is 1 out of 5. Article planned for future work. No real progress to date.

The catalogue follows Thålin groups and then subdivided by Petersen's [PETERSEN 1919] types. Winged spearheads have been ground together in their own section and also include finds from outside of Britain. Each entry consists of the following components:

• Find Location
• Find Type: Grave, Hoard, River or Stray
• Current location
• Dimensions (if known)
• Any other information
• Bibliography of other published references.

Dimensions are given where known and can be stated in either imperial or metric measurements. Reference is sometimes made to Rygh types. Rygh’s [RYGH 1885] book illustrates examples of many pre-historic objects from Norway. These are designated as R.xxx where xxx is Rygh’s figure number.

Thålin Group 1

Leaf-shaped Spearheads (Pre 900AD)
Petersen Types A-E
Group 1 consists of Petersen types A, B, C, D1 and E. They are all types with a lancoid blade and gradual transition from socket to blade.

Petersen Type E

England, Hertfordshire, Nazing Current Location- ? Dimensions- Total- L.249mm x W.21mm Blade- L.? x W.? x T.7mm Socket- broken (under 20mm diamter) This socketed spear-head has a well-preserved blade, but very corroded and broken socket. Dated by Petersen to the 8th and 9th centuries Bibliography- [MORRIS 1983]

Thålin Group 2

Angular Spearheads with Short Sockets (950-1075AD)
Petersen Types D2, G & H
Group 2 consists of Petersen types D:2, G and H. They are all types with edge shoulders placed low on the blade and a short conical socket with marked narrowing below the blade.

Fuglesang includes the winged spears of Petersens type D2 in with this group as he removed wings as a determinant of typology making Petersens D2 and G types the same. See the section on ‘Winged Spears’ for examples of D2 style spear heads.
It has also been suggested by Fuglesang and Petersen that type G spearheads without wings may be of eastern origin with the majority of finds coming from Sweden and Finland. A few decorated type G spears have been found with Urnes style decoration.

Petersen Type G

	England, London, Thames at Hampton Court Current Location- London Museum Dimensions- Total- Blade- Socket- possible mouldings at base of blade Bibliography- [BJORN and SHETELIG 1940:P.85] [WHEELER 1927:P.28 Fig.12.2]
	England, London, Walthamstow Current Location- London Museum Dimensions- Total- Blade- Socket- Bibliography- [BJORN and SHETELIG 1940:P.85] [WHEELER 1927:P.28 Fig.12.3]

Petersen Type H

In most ways the same as type G except for the moulding at the base of the blade.

	England, Cambridgeshire, Soham Current Location- University Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology, Cambridge Dimensions- Total- Blade- Socket- Fine spear-head of the late Viking type R.523, with a moulding at the base of the blade Bibliography- [BJORN and SHETELIG 1940:P.64 Fig.33]
	England, Cambridgeshire, Ely Current Location- Dimensions- Total- Blade- Socket- Spear-head of the type R. 523, of about 1000AD Bibliography- [BJORN and SHETELIG 1940:P.64]
	England, Cambridgeshire, River Cam at Dimmock's Cote nr. Upware Current Location- Dimensions- Total- Blade- Socket- Bibliography- [BJORN and SHETELIG 1940:P.69] [WOV:cat.1242]
No Picture	England, Lincolnshire, River Witham at Lincoln Current Location- City and County Museum of Lincoln Dimensions- Total- Blade- Socket- Bibliography- [BJORN and SHETELIG 1940:P.99]

Thålin Group 3

Angular Spearheads with Long Sockets from Britain (840-1100AD)
Petersen types F, I, K & M
Group 3 consists of Petersen types F, I, K & M. They are all types with a narrow blade which is often shouldered and a socket that is long, narrow and conical.

Fuglesang has studied the K & M types of spearhead that are decorated in Ringerike designs. Due to difficulty in determining the exact typology of many of these spearheads she has introduced a new K/M type that falls between those of Petersens K and M [FUGLESANG 1980].

Petersen Type F

Type F spearheads generally have a length of 30-60cm with most being between 50-60cm. Petersen classes this a very numerous type in Norway [PETERSEN 1919].

References

<nocite> BJORN1940 FUGLESANG1980 MORRIS1983 PETERSEN1919 RYGH1885 WHEELER1927 WOV </nocite> <biblio force=false>#Template:Bib</biblio>