[Owen Bush]

Hoard comprising of 12 blades .
Notable are the size of the large "lang seax" ( blade at 35 inches)and the proliferation of pattern welding in the seax blades which is very rare for this period .
The lang seax is particularly interesting in that it shows a conveluted snake pattern similar to an example I have seen in the BM.
The blades seem to show varying piled structure and evidence of sandwich construction (passably piled sheer steel?) . the sword is an anomaly and is a 4 bar construction with a interrupted chevron pattern (reminiscent of the sutton hoo blade ?) and a high layer edge ,runic letters are visible on the blade . I should note that the sword blade is not bent as it apeares to be in the picture , this is an effect of the camera lens.
A substantial hoard like this is good evidence that weapon-smiths of the time did not specialize in either making just swords or tools but made both as part of there normal job of work.
My suspicion is that the hoard is most probably the work of one smith and although there are no makers marks on any pieces There are considerable similarity's between some of the work.
It is hard to put a value on a hoard such as this ,especially considering the high preservation of the pieces .Most blades were found heavily waxed and wrapped in raw silk ,some look as though they could have been finished yesterday.
There is no evidence of hilt fittings and I like to think these blades were part of a smiths commercial trade and were either lost on rout to market or (which I think more likely) hidden in the smiths forge . There is substantial evidence of forging activities at the find sight .
Given the extremely good state of preservation ( there is even heat oxide from the tempering still visible on some of the tangs) I would like to see at least some of the blades with handles , this could at last give an idea of what these pieces would have looked like in there full glory .I am currently looking in to the possibilities of finding modern craftsmen who would have the skill and attention to period . Given the current lack of interest that museums have with pieces of this period it is quite likely that at least some of these pieces will end up in the hands of private collectors . I will make sure that they are well documented before this happens .

Best estimate date wise is late 9th or early 10th YTM*

















*YTM meaning Year of the Third Millennium , an abbreviation used by pseudo historic formited to denote gravitas and antiquity .

[Luka Borscak]

I beg for a bigger picture to see the patterns better. This is glorious!!! Actually, my first thought was that it's your work and you are kidding us. If you are, you owe me for a heart attack.

[Myles Mulkey]

[David McElrea]

Those have to be reproductions... They are in too pristine condition.

Also, the sword second from the bottom has a profile that doesn't (seem to me to) belong to this time frame, and is entirely pattern-welded-- no fuller and no differentiation in the edge. At least one of the seaxes looks odd as well... Am I the only one seeing this, or am I wrong?

[David McElrea]

Ah... all of a sudden the light dawns. Very good. And beautiful work.

[Ken Speed]

Yeah, I'm with Lukas on both issues. I really couldn't believe my eyes and was on the very thin edge of totally freaking out! I kept reading and rereading ..............ummmm ........third millennium....ummmmmm. OH! that ##@@!! LOL!!


Yes, I would be very interested to see larger photos!

[M. Livermore]

That straight back seax on the right is very sweet. I would love to see some larger photos as well.

[Owen Bush]

Thanks for your replies .
concerning the dates of these pieces . I am fairly certain that I am in the rite ball park in my initial post . Like I mentioned in my earlier post the complicated nature of the pattern welding make me certain that they are no earlier than 9th to 10th YTM* .............I do not think it possible that they are later ?.**
I have booked an appointment with the site photographer and will publish more in depth photos as soon as I have them .



















*YTM meaning year of the third milennium , an abreviation used by pseudo historic formites to denote gravitas and antiquety .
** We have very little knowledge of the period of the latter 10th YTM .

[Owen Bush]

[Myles Mulkey]

[Leo Todeschini]

Owen,

You are a tease!

For goodness sake stop beating about the bush (pun intended) and post up some pictures we can actually see detail in............................

Great collection. I must come down again soon and see what you are up to.

Tod

[Owen Bush]

[Owen Bush]

[Peter Johnsson]

An incredible find.

What I find noteworthy is the uniform and high level of craftsmanship. In hoards like these (although I do not know of many this large) it is common to se a mixture of styles and levels of craftsmanship. Everything indeed points at an origin in workshops concentrated in a small area, perhaps even work by the same master.
Also wonderful to see how well preserved they are. All surfaces look pristine.

Can´t wait to see more details.
Please post close ups if you can.

I also wonder where these will end up. On public display, or perhaps more probable in private collections. I would be interested to see grips and scabbards restored, or perhaps more correctly reconstructed. I am sure the effect would be stunning :-)











Owen, you have way too much fun :-)

[Owen Bush]

[Russ Ellis]

I too look forward to hearing more about the West Kentish Saxon Hoard. Some more pictures would be great... are you sure you can't find a maker's mark?

[Owen Bush]

AS soon as I have good quality photos available I'll post them here .That should be this weekend.
In the mean time as part of my archiving I have taken some close ups showing the construction details of three of the medium sized pattern welded seax.

Detail 1
Construction seems to be wrought iron at spine ,with 2 bars of pattern weld showing a wave like pattern and then Piled (sheer) steel at the edge . Interestingly the blade is not sharpened at this time .Finish to blade is slightly matt showing possable evidence of etching .




Detail 2
Construction appears to be laminated wrought iron and sheer steel at the spine and two bars of pattern showing a similar structure to above but with a slightly lazier twist . Edge steel is again piled sheer steel ,with a slightly courser wood grain pattern than detail 1 . again the blade is slightly matt showing signs of etching .




Detail 3
construction differs from the other 2 blades . The blade has a wrought iron spine , thicker than the other 2 samples . The pattern welded layer is different as well showing a single bar twist with alternating layers of what looks like high layer density laminated steel alternating with more uniform (un patterned ) steel . The edge material appears to be monosteel at least at this magnification .Blade is again slightly matt



Like I have mentioned my apologies for not havening more detailed photos , I hope these will do for the moment .

[Jo Thomas]

[Jeremy V. Krause]

THis is really something!

Thanks Owen, for sharing this truly fascinating material.

[Christian Böhling]

I am totally exited, what a find!!!! And the mixture in the material clearly to be visible after those 1000 years seen from
Tridi, 23 Pluviôse MCCXVIII* --- great!















* who will solve this?