dagger; sheath

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Object Type: dagger; sheath
Museum number: 1892,0901.1210
Description: Iron military dagger with sheath. Sheath inlaid with brass and yellow enamel. The handle is poorly preserved and the number and position of the rivets are not clear.
Cultures/periods
Production date: 1stC(mid)
Findspot: Found/Acquired: Hod Hill
Materials: iron; enamel; copper alloy
Type series: Manning Type B (blade); Manning Type I (handle)
Technique
Dimensions: Length: 336 millimetres (dagger); Length: 253 millimetres (sheath)
Curator's comments: Iron dagger and sheath Roman Britain, 1st century AD From the Roman fort site at Hod Hill, Dorset Daggers were carried by legionaries and might be used in battle if the sword was lost, but generally they were probably more for prestige than for combat. The visible front plate of the iron sheath was often elaborately decorated. This example is based on rosettes and chevrons, which are picked out with inlays of brass and yellow-coloured enamel.
Bibliographic references: Manning 1985 / Catalogue of Romano-British Iron Tools, Fittings and Weapons in the British Museum (V7); Payne 1892 / Catalogue of the Museum of Local Antiquities collected by Mr Henry Durden of Blandford, Dorsetshire (43, no. 620); Brailsford 1962 / Hod Hill Volume One: Antiquities from Hod Hill in the Durden Collection (B2); Roman Britain 1964 / Guide to the Antiquities of Roman Britain (p. 71, fig. 36.2); Hobbs & Jackson 2010 / Roman Britain Life at the Edge of Empire (p. 32, fig. 20)
Location: Not on display
Acquisition name
Previous owner
Department: Britain, Europe and Prehistory
Registration number: 1892,0901.1210
Conservation

Free entry

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