Casgliadau Arlein

One of a Hoard of twenty one bronze tools, weapons and ingot fragments dating to the Ewart Park phase of the Late Bronze Age (1000-800 BC)

This is a Pegged Spearhead of Group 13 with fillets (& short fillet-plates), two fragments, one third lower blade and socket fragment and a conjoining small socket fragment.

A one-third lower blade and socket fragment of a bronze spearhead and a small conjoining lower socket fragment. The spearhead once had a slender leaf or flame shaped blade with the base of the blade merging gradually with the top of the socket on each side. The blade has a wide bevelled edge, surviving with a maximum width of 5.3mm. The surviving shape of the midrib indicates that it was once circular shaped in cross-section, with the aperture extending slightly into the blade wings. The sides of the midrib are emphasized by longitudinal ‘fillets’ which extend below the base of the blade to form short fillet-plates. A single complete peg hole is visible down one side, closely surrounded by the base of the fillet-plate, with a partial peg hole surviving in the break-edge on the opposite side. The small socket fragment refits neatly onto the base of the larger fragment, the break edges appearing fresh with core metal exposed across their entirety, indicating recent damage. This small socket fragment has a section of the lower socket mouth surviving indicating a short socket for this spearhead. Additional sections of exposed core metal on the main fragment socket break-edges suggest that additional fragments of the socket were damaged and displaced when the spearhead was retrieved from the ground. The upper break edges across the lower blade are irregular and there are short sections of visible core metal, indicating some recent damage. However, some sections of this upper break where the edges are sufficiently eroded and within the patinated surface to indicate that much of this break occurred in antiquity. Several impact marks and associated crushing of the midrib aperture are visible across the surviving blade, likely caused in antiquity when the spearhead was deliberately broken through impact with a blunt and round-ended tool.

The hoard contains 13 axe heads, 1 palstave, 3 spearheads, 1 sword and 2 fragments from copper and leaded bronze ingots of Late Bronze Age (1150-800BC) dates. 1 additional post-medieval copper alloy object was found nearby but was probably mixed in by chance. The hoard was discovered on the south-eastward facing slope of a shallow valley with a view of the Bristol Channel. There was no obvious watercourse flowing nearby.