[Andrew W.]

Greetings to all

Ok,I used to be a battle re-enactor,concentrating on the period 500bc to 100ad,and for this I chose to construct a sword,me being one of those people who likes to be different,went for a weird blade.Well not weird,but nothing like what any of the other re-enactors were using at the time.I had in my possesion the archaeological survey report done by Sir Mortimer Wheeler on the Stanwick fortifications,in this report,was a very detailed study done on a sword and wooden scabbard found there at the excavation,I chose this sword to reconstruct.From the drawing and photographs in the book,I created the blade outline,the dimensions being checked by the British Museum,from the actual article,the blade being made by a sword maker out of 3/16 inch En45 steel,apparently case hardened but with dull edges and point for reenactment purposes.The scabbard and bronze furniture,I myself constructed from Ash wood strips glued together and carved,the bronze from milliput models.Scabbard,hilt and decoration being my forte,blades not so much,except for small weapons,daggers and the like.

This sword and scabbard has been left idle for ten years uncompleted,but now I feel the interest again to once again try to finish it off,even though I have left the reenactment in the past.This interest has once again prompted me to look into the sword's origin,i.e.,was it a celtic sword,possibly a Brigantian design,or a Romano British design,as there is evidence of some Roman ideas in the chapes decoration,or was it a spatha used by auxillaries.Is there anyone here who might have a view on this?

Also,when the sword was found,it was inserted into it's intact wooden scabbard,with all the bronze decoration complete(been underground circa 2000 years),the only thing that was missing was the hilt,grip and pommel assembly,this having been possibly lost prior to it being deposited at the bottom of one of the earthworks.The sword being a square mouth design,I have a reasonable idea how it should look when I come to that bit,but would anyone here have any suggestions?Decoration?

What will happen to it when it is finished,that I do not know,my desire at the moment is to finish it.I did also in the past have a purse shaped shield,reconstructed from a find from a peat bog,the lime wood plank construction,the purse shape scaled up from one of those tiny votive offering shields.I could see how a sword of this design could be effectively used with that design of shield,the sword being both a hacking and stabbing weapon,at the time I took the sword to be a celtic design.

My apologies if this post is over long,but I can find very little on the internet.I just like to get things right,or at least as near to.