Asset number
834405001
Description
Iron sword (Parazonicin) with bronze sheath. The greater part of the blade is almost parallel sided, although it splays out slightly just below the shoulders, which are straight and level. The tip, which is some 18 cm long, accounts for almost exactly one-third of the length of the blade. The tang is broken. This well-known sword was found in its scabbard, the frame, chape and two bronze plates of which survived. Both plates are decorated in repoussé. The upper one shows a stag attacked by two hounds, flanked by trees with Romulus, Remus and the wolf below, all within a simple border of elongated dots. The second and larger plate has a floral scroll, with birds and butterflies in the spaces, and a pair of hares (?) in the lower corners; the border is a narrow cable with dots on the lower edge.
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