Timeless are pleased to offer a rare Iron Age Ring Pommel Dagger, crafted sometime from the 1st Century B.C.E. to the 1st Century A.D.
Iron Age daggers were more than mere tools; they were symbols of status, craftmanship, and spiritual significance. With their hard, durable iron blades, these daggers were vital for warfare, everyday tasks, and hunting, underlining their practical importance. Yet, they also represented a craftsman's skill, reflecting the era's advanced blacksmithing techniques.
Their role as status symbols, along with their use in rituals like burials or offerings to deities, emphasized their socio-cultural significance, making them a central element of Iron Age life.
Ring Pommel: The pommel, located at the end of the handle, makes this an extremely uncommon piece. Apart from providing balance and preventing the hand from slipping, the ring was used to hang the dagger from a belt or sash.
At around 30cm in length and mounted on aged oak, this beautiful 2000-year-old artefact displays a slightly curved, single-edged blade, long handle and a ring-eyelet.
See Vouga, P. La Tene. Monographie de la station publiee au nom de la Commission des foilles de La Tene, Leipzig, 1923.
UNUSUAL CELTIC IRON AGE DAGGER
Acquired by Timeless on the UK Antiquities market, 2021. Formerly in a private Cambridgshire collection formed prior to 1990.