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 Leaf Shaped Sword of Ewart Park Type, possible step 2, bronze – two conjoining fragments

These are two conjoining fragments of a bronze leaf-shaped sword, missing most of its tang and the terminal and also the lower blade section and tip. The shoulders of the hilt are straight and moderately divergent, creating flared and pointed shoulders. Two large, circular-shaped rivet-holes (c. 5.3mm in diameter) are present, one on each upper shoulder. The ricasso is straight on one side and very slightly concave on the other. The blade is leaf shaped; the upper blade profile slightly concave before gradually broadening towards the mid blade with a slight convex leaf-shaped form. The blade has a lenticular shaped cross-section, with a prominent mid-ridge which is thickest along the upper blade. Slightly concave blade-sections are visible either side of the mid-ridge which give rise to bevelled edges. The breaks were made in antiquity. Significant bending of both fragments in side-section indicates the sword was deliberately broken with effort and force prior to burial, the lower section of the blade with bending in the opposite direction to the upper section. There are nicks and notches with eroded break-edges along the blade edges, however it is not clear which were created during use and which were created while buried. Some nicks have fresh break-edges, suggesting these were recently created during retrieval.

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.