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

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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
• Current location
• Find Type: Grave, Hoard, River or Stray
• Find Date
• 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 D1

	England, Yorkshire, River Ouse Current Location- Yorkshire Museum Type- Find Date- Dimensions- Total- L:43.4 x W:5.2cm Blade- Socket- Bibliography- [BJORN and SHETELIG 1940:p.93] [PENDLESONN 1980:p.41 (image)] [ROESDAHL 1981:p.65 cat.D16 (image)]
	England, Nottingham Current Location- British Museum Dimensions- Total- L: 62.2cm (24.5” long x 2.5” wide) Blade- Socket- Notes- Grave Find. Type C-D, C9th. Affixed to a wooden shaft by a brass pin Bibliography- [BJORN and SHETELIG 1940:p.15] The Archaeological Journal VIII p.424-425
	England, Cambridgeshire, Braham's Farm Current Location- Cam. UMAA [1929.283] Type- Dredged from the River Ouse Find Date- 1929? Dimensions- Total- Blade- Socket- Notes- In remarkably good state of preservation. The blade is damascened, and the socket richly inlaid with silver, copper and ornaments of gold. Bibliography- [BJORN and SHETELIG 1940:p.64 fig.31 (image)] [ROESDAHL 1981:p.63 cat.D6 (image)]
	England, London, Wandsworth Current Location- Dimensions- Total- Blade- Socket- Bibliography- [WHEELER 1927:fig.12-1]

Petersen Type E

	England, Hertfordshire, Nazeing Current Location- ? Dimensions- Total- L.249mm x W.21mm Blade- L.? x W.? x T.7mm Socket- broken (under 20mm diamter) Notes- 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]
File:BM1854,0330.1.jpg 130x150px	England, London, Thames Current Location- British Museum: 1854,0330.1 Find Type- River. C9th-C11th Find Date- 1854 Dimensions- Total- L.744mm Blade- Socket- Notes- Split socket and grooves around junction Bibliography- British Museum (Image)
	England, London, River Thames Current Location- ? Dimensions- Total- L.249mm x W.21mm Blade- L.? x W.? x T.7mm Socket- broken (under 20mm diamter) Notes- Fuglesang has suggested that this spear resembles a type E spear. Bibliography- [FUGLESANG 1980:p.139] [BJORN and SHETELIG 1940:p.84 f.48]

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 D2

	England, ? Current Location- British Museum: No. 22 Dimensions- Total- Blade- Socket- Bibliography- [STEPHENSON 2007]
	England, ? Current Location- British Museum: No. 21 Dimensions- Total- Blade- Socket- Bibliography- [STEPHENSON 2007]
	England, York Current Location- Dimensions- Total- Blade- Socket- Notes- Bronze socket of spearhead from Farnham, Pitt Rivers Museum C11th. This type of spearhead could be considered to be an eastern (Finish) type except for this find from York and another from the British Museum. Bibliography- [FUGLESANG 1980:fig.3] [LANG 1981] [KENDRICK 1949:pl.LXIX]

Petersen Type G

	England, London, Thames at Hampton Court Current Location- London Museum Dimensions- Total- Blade- Socket- Notes- 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- Notes- 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- Notes- 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].

England, Cumberland, Hesket-in-Forest, near Carlisle Current Location- Dimensions- Total- 11” long Blade- Socket- Notes- It has 6 pairs of close set rings each with a pair of rivet holes. I consider this to be a transitional type between F and I like those from Bruhaugen in Norway [PETERSEN 1919: Fig. 16] and Sodermanland in Sweden. [BJORN and SHETELIG 1940:p.20] Edwards quotes Cowan who considers this spear as a hybrid between Petersen's type F and I.[EDWARDS 1992:P.46] Bibliography- [BJORN and SHETELIG 1940:p.20 item c] [EDWARDS 1992:P.46]

England, Oxfordshire, River Thames Current Location- Dimensions- Total- Blade- Socket- Notes- Small spearhead R529 Bibliography- [BJORN and SHETELIG 1940:p.59]

Petersen Type I

The socket commonly has 11 pairs of holes originally with bronze rivets. Some have up to 15 pairs of holes. Petersen classes these as not numerous in Norway [PETERSEN 1919].

England, Cumberland, Hesket-in-Forest, near Carlisle Current Location- Dimensions- Total- 17 5/8” long with its tip missing. Blade- Socket- Notes- It has 7 pairs of rivet holes. Bibliography- [BJORN and SHETELIG 1940:p.20 item b] [EDWARDS 1992:P.46]

Petersen Type K

	England, Yorkshire, Camphill near Bedale Current Location- Dimensions- Total- Blade- Socket- Notes- Long and slender late Viking - Type K? Bibliography- [BJORN and SHETELIG 1940:p.15]
	Isle of Man, Balladoyne Current Location- Dimensions- Total- L:20-25” Blade- Socket- Notes- Type K, very rusty. A thin disk is attached to the socket. Inside the socket are fragments of fine linen fabric which had been bound twice around the point of the wooden shaft. Bibliography- [BJORN and SHETELIG 1940:p.26]
	England, Cambridgeshire, Ely Current Location- Dimensions- Total- Blade- Socket- Notes- found in the fens Bibliography- [BJORN and SHETELIG 1940:p.67]
	England, Surry, Sunbury Weir Current Location- Reading Museum Dimensions- Total- Blade- Central panel of herring-bone pattern welding Socket- Tubular socket Bibliography- [COLLINS 1949:p.18 fig.A.3]
	England, Berkshire, Cookham Current Location- Reading Museum Dimensions- Total- Blade- Central panel of herring-bone pattern welding Socket- Split socket Bibliography- [COLLINS 1949:p.18 fig.A.2]
	England, London, Thames at Kingston Current Location- Reading Museum Dimensions- Total- Blade- Central panel of herring-bone pattern welding Socket- Split socket Bibliography- [COLLINS 1949:p.18 fig.A.1]

	England, London, Old London Bridge Current Location- London Museum: A 23352 Find Type- River find. Part of a group of 16 items including 6 type k spearheads. Dated to the early C11th. Find Date- 1920s Dimensions- Total- Blade- Socket- Notes- "traces of a serrated band of inlay along each side of the mid-rib"[WHEELER 1927:p.23] Bibliography- [WHEELER 1927:p.2 fig.1.9 (image), p.23] [BJORN and SHETELIG 1940:p.77]
	England, London, Old London Bridge Current Location- London Museum: A 23348 Find Type- River find. Part of a group of 16 items including 6 type k spearheads. Dated to the early C11th. Find Date- 1920s Dimensions- Total- L:372mm x W:26mm Blade- Socket- Bibliography- [WHEELER 1927:p.2 fig.1.10 (image), p.23] [BJORN and SHETELIG 1940:p.77] London Museum
	England, London, Old London Bridge Current Location- London Museum: A 23350 Find Type- River find. Part of a group of 16 items including 6 type k spearheads. Dated to the early C11th. Find Date- 1920s Dimensions- Total- L:420mm x W:40mm Blade- Socket- Notes- "has slight traces of a zigzag strip of inlay down each side of the central rib."[WHEELER 1927:p.20] Bibliography- [WHEELER 1927:p.2 fig.1.11 (image), p.20, p.23] [BJORN and SHETELIG 1940:p.77] London Museum
	England, London, Old London Bridge Current Location- London Museum: A 23351 Find Type- River find. Part of a group of 16 items including 6 type k spearheads. Dated to the early C11th. Find Date- 1920s Dimensions- Total- Blade- Socket- fragment of wooden shaft in socket [WHEELER 1927:p.23] Bibliography- [WHEELER 1927:p.2 fig.1.12 (image), p.23] [BJORN and SHETELIG 1940:p.77]
	England, London, Old London Bridge Current Location- London Museum: A 23349 Find Type- River find. Part of a group of 16 items including 6 type k spearheads. Dated to the early C11th. Find Date- 1920s Dimensions- Total- L:512mm x W:35mm Blade- Socket- fragment of wooden shaft in socket. Notes- slight moulding at base of blade Bibliography- [WHEELER 1927:p.2 fig.1.13 (image), p.23] [BJORN and SHETELIG 1940:p.77] London Museum
	England, London, Old London Bridge Current Location- London Museum: A 23353 Find Type- River find. Part of a group of 16 items including 6 type k spearheads. Dated to the early C11th. Find Date- 1920s Dimensions- Total- Blade- Socket- Notes- "The socket ls decorated with an elaborate interlacing pattern, inlaid in white metal; above this, the neck of the spear has eight facets, each bearing an inlaid key pattern. The lower end of the socket is damaged. but can be to some extent reconstructed from a strikingly similar spearhead found at Hyilestad, north of Bergen in Norway."[WHEELER 1927:p.20] Wheeler identifies the decoration as Ringerike. Bibliography- [WHEELER 1927:p.2 fig.1.14 (image), p.20-21 fig.5 (image), p.23] [BJORN and SHETELIG 1940:p.77]

	England, London, Putney Current Location- London Museum: A 25395 Find Type- Find Date- Dimensions- Total- Blade- Socket- Bibliography- [WHEELER 1927:p.28-29 Fig.12.4 (image)] [BJORN and SHETELIG 1940:p.85]
	England, London, nr. Tate Gallery Current Location- London Museum: A 14746 Find Type- Find Date- Dimensions- Total- Blade- Socket- Bibliography- [WHEELER 1927:p.28-29 Fig.12.5(image)] [BJORN and SHETELIG 1940:p.85]
	England, London, Thames River Current Location- British Museum 93.7-15.2 Find Type- Unknown, probably a River find. Find Date- 1848 Dimensions- Total- L:546mm x W:23 Blade- Socket- D:20mm Notes- socket covered with alternating silver and copper chevrons.[BJORN and SHETELIG 1940:p.84] This type of decoration is known mainly from Norway.[GRAHAM-CAMPBELL 1980:p.73] Bibliography- [BJORN and SHETELIG 1940:p.84 fig.49 (image)] [GRAHAM-CAMPBELL and KIDD 1980:p.115 fig.63] [GRAHAM-CAMPBELL 1980:p.73 fig.259] British Museum
	England, London Current Location- British Museum: 56-4-1-1376 Find Type- Find Date- Dimensions- Total- 24" Blade- Socket- Bibliography- [BJORN and SHETELIG 1940:p.84 fig.50]
	England, London, Thames at Ditton Current Location- British Museum: 62-8-2-3 Dimensions- Total- 18" Blade- Socket- Bibliography- [BJORN and SHETELIG 1940:p.84 fig.51]
	England, London Current Location- British Museum: 55-10-29-1 Dimensions- Total- 12" Blade- Socket- Bibliography- [BJORN and SHETELIG 1940:p.84 fig.52]
File:BM1857,0623.3.jpg 130x150px	England, London, River Thames at Battersea Current Location- British Museum: 1857,0623.3 Find Type- River. C9th-C10th Find Date- 1857 Dimensions- Total- 494mm Blade- Socket- Bibliography- British Museum (image)

Petersen Type M

	England, Kidlington, River Cherwell Current Location- Ashmolean Museum: 1949/928 Dimensions- Total- Blade- Socket- Bibliography- [MORRIS 1983]
	England, Hertfordshire, Lugg Mills Current Location- Dimensions- Total- Blade- Socket- Notes- Unpublished Bibliography- [MORRIS 1983]
	England, Essex, Nazeing Current Location- Dimensions- Total- L:246mm x W:35mm Blade- T:6mm Socket- D:18 mm Notes- Decoration between blade and socket consists of a barrel-shaped collar with two ribs above and below it. These had been forged by cutting into the spear when hot during manufacture. Pattern-welded blade. Bibliography- [MORRIS 1983]
	England, London, Thames at Datchet Current Location- London Museum: A 17479 Dimensions- Total- Blade- Socket- Notes- Unpublished Bibliography- [WHEELER 1927:p.28 fig.12.6]
	England, London, Thames Street Current Location- London Museum: Dimensions- Total- Blade- Socket- Bibliography- [WHEELER 1935:pl.XI 4] [MORRIS 1983]
	England, London Current Location- London Museum: Dimensions- Total- Blade- Socket- Notes- Unprovenanced, but found in London Bibliography- [WHEELER 1935:pl.XI 5] [MORRIS 1983]
File:BM1856,0701.1377.jpg 130x150px	England, Berkshire, Pangbourne Current Location- British Museum: 1856,0701.1377 Find Type Find Date-1856 Dimensions- Total- 382mm Blade- Socket- Notes- Purchased from Charles Roach Smith Bibliography- British Museum (image)

Unclassified Spearheads

	England, Kentmere Current Location- Kendal Borough Museum: We. SD 456 028 Find Type- Find Date-1942 Dimensions- Total- 343mm Blade- Socket- Notes- Type M but with a split socket Bibliography- [EDWARDS 1998:p.25 fig.10.a & 11.a (image)] [EDWARDS 1992:p.51]
	England, Kentmere Current Location- Kendal Borough Museum: We. c.SD 456 028 Find Type- Find Date-1942 Dimensions- Total- 400mm Blade- Socket- Bibliography- [EDWARDS 1998:p.25 fig.10.b & 11.b (image)] [EDWARDS 1992:p.51]
	England, Estheaite Current Location- La. c.SD 360 960 Find Type- Find Date-1976 Dimensions- Total- Blade- Socket- Notes- Type F Bibliography- [EDWARDS 1998:p.25 fig.10.c (image)] [EDWARDS 1992:p.51]
	England, Lancaster Current Location- Dimensions- Total- Blade- Socket- Bibliography- [EDWARDS 1998:p.27-28 fig.12 (image)]
No Picture	England, Nan Bield Pass Current Location- Dimensions- Total- Blade- Socket- Notes- Unpublished Bibliography- [EDWARDS 1998:p.27-28]

The following spearheads are referenced but have both no associated image and no type mentioned.

• Magdalen Bridge, Oxford, England [BJORN and SHETELIG 1940: P.12]
• West Ham, near Basingstoke, Hants, England. Possibly Saxon [BJORN and SHETELIG 1940: P.15]
• Claughton Hall, near Gortstaug, Lancashire, England (Lost) [BJORN and SHETELIG 1940: P.18] [EDWARDS 1992:P.46]
• Ballaugh, Isle of Man (Lost) [BJORN and SHETELIG 1940: P.22]
• Boiden, near the lower Bridge of Froon, Scotland (Lost) The spear-head is 11 in. long and 2 in. broad.

Winged

• Ballachrink, Jurby, Isle of Man: base of socket has wings [BJORN and SHETELIG 1940: P.25]

References

<nocite> BJORN1940 COLLINS1949 EDWARDS1992 EDWARDS1998 GRAHAM-CAMPBELL1980 GRAHAM-CAMPBELL1980b FUGLESANG1980 KENDRICK1949 LANG1981 MORRIS1983 PENDLESONN1980 PETERSEN1919 ROESDAHL1981 RYGH1885 STEPHENSON2007 WHEELER1927 WHEELER1935 WOV </nocite> <biblio force=false>#Template:Bib</biblio>