[Kirsten Frank]

Hi,

I’m a conservation student from Hamburg and write my thesis about a bronze-age sword with gold applications. It was found in north Germany near the border to Denmark. The handle was organic material, which was deteriorated in the soil. About 25 years ago a reconstruction of the handle was made. My project is to remove the reconstruction. One topic of my thesis is the production process about the sword. I wonder how the pommel is fixed on the handle. In the x-ray you see two pins coming from the top of the pommel. My question is were the pins founded with the pommel or were they put in later and forged with the pommel? Which kind of organic material like bone, wood, antler do you think is possible for the handle. There is still clay material in the pommel. Do you think it is the casting core from the investment-casting-found or they did it later for fixation of the pommel?

I hope to hear from someone,

Kirsten Frank

[Steve L.]

Hi Kirsten,

[Arne Focke]

That is an interesting thesis you got. A picture of the handle next to the x-ray might be also helpful.

I don't know if you are allowed to move the original, but you might be interested in showing it to all our members working in the open-air museum of Molfsee (near Kiel). All of us who are working there, are studied Archaeologists and perhaps we might be able to give you some helpful advice on the subject.
If you want to call me, since we are not there all the time, you can find my number under this link: http://freilichtmuseum-sh.de/info/index.htm

In German (just the directions ) :
Die A7 Richtung Kiel, am Dreieck Bordesholm auf die A215 und dann einfach an der Abfahrt Molfsee raus. Das Museum ist kaum zu verfehlen.

[Jeroen Zuiderwijk]

Welcome Kirstin!

Steve already answered most of your questions, but I'll add what I can. I've never seen such pins in this type of pommel, so they're a mystery to me. Does the tang of the sword extend through the pommel? If not, then it would make sense that the pommel is secured with rivets.

About the clay in the pommel, it's quite likely that it's the remains from the core to make the pommel hollow. From experience, this can be quite tricky to remove, especially the last bit that's stuck in the corners. I've done socketed axes, and removing the cores can take many hours.

B.t.w. are you familiar with the site Guder og Grave? (http://www.guderoggrave.dk/) It's a Danish site with lots of examples of such swords, quite a few still having organic material remaining. To see the swords, go to "Genstande" -> "Våben" -> "Sværd", then select one of the options and hit "Søg".

N.b. a tip if you are going to describe the sword: it would be interesting to add details as mass, location of the center of gravity and a clear to scale drawing of the cross-section of the blade. Usually these aspects are overlooked by archeologists describing swords, but are essential to understanding the functionality of the sword.

[Steve L.]

An x-ray pic from above on the "pommel-plate" will also be helpfull!