Fantastic forum some great weapons and research details on the forum.

I do some metal detecting surveys for Museum and Private Archaeologist Companies in Scotland and have recently
returned from Bannock Burn with a team and Bothwell Bridge.

We managed to turn up a nice pommel end from Bothwell Bridge which we hope will date to the battle, just wondered
if any of your members have seen this design in their travel. It is uncleaned state in the photo as we handed it straight over to the Archaeologists on the day.


cheers

Lesley

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bottom part sorry this is in two postings

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To me this item looks as though it was probably on the back end of a Sgian Dubh: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sgian_Dubh

thanks Craig thought it looked too big maybe for that, could be let you know the outcome asap. :D

Oh, it's close to 4 cm across which would be a bit over 1 1/2" wide not 4 " : Maybe Al you didn't notice that it was a metric tape
measure.

With the pictures shown I have trouble understanding the shape in a 3D way: Maybe if shown from different angles it would be easier to identified ? By somebody else than me though as I haven't a clue.

Lesley, welcome to the site by the way. :D

Okay, I suppose we're all guessing now, but since there is no information about this find in situ , i.e. how deep in the soil, was the soil undisturbed, etc., my guess is that this is an anomaly. My gut says this artifact is from a 19th century military style bandsman dirk that was "lost" during a celebration at the bridge anywhere from 50-150 years ago. It doesn't "feel' right to be from the period of the battle. Again, just a guess, but closer than assuming its a battlefield artifact. Well, actually, it is a battlefield artifact, just not from the period of the battle itself! :D George

I agree- I dont think we have ever seen a pommel stone like that before the very end of the 18th century at the earliest. As far as I know...