Unidentified spearhead

[Victrix]

It likely is of Celtic or Roman origin. But haven’t gotten a concrete ID yet.

[Kamnaskires]

Nice spearhead! Is it iron? I can't tell if the brown/orange material is rust or, rather, deposits over bronze.

[CPK]

Very cool!

[Victrix]

23 hours ago, Kamnaskires said:

Nice spearhead! Is it iron? I can't tell if the brown/orange material is rust or, rather, deposits over bronze.

As far as I can tell it's Iron, it might be mixed with something as in the middle section you seem some red-ish patina almost. 

[Kamnaskires]

Thanks for the reply. Do you know where it was found?

 

[Ursus]

This is the book you might want to have a look at. It has numerous plates for weaponry, including shafted weapons, from all periods of Roman history. Spearheads are notoriously hard to attribute, though. With your example, the split socket looks unusal to me, but I am definitely not even close to an expert.

 

[antwerpen2306]

I have only one spearhead, Celtic, found in the Donau river in Germany. I think yours is iron as mine. It is dated in the fourth century BC, sizes 162 x29 mm, 53 gr. There are still some rests of wood in the  socket.The point and the sides are still sharp.

[Victrix]

On 3/16/2024 at 6:27 PM, antwerpen2306 said:

I have only one spearhead, Celtic, found in the Donau river in Germany. I think yours is iron as mine. It is dated in the fourth century BC, sizes 162 x29 mm, 53 gr. There are still some rests of wood in the  socket.The point and the sides are still sharp.

Very nice! It does seem to be somewhat in the same style. Is your socket the same as mine ? 

[antwerpen2306]

no, that is the problem, the socket is closed and I think, a split socket is to date later. I hope for you I am wrong because it is a nice specimen

[Kamnaskires]

21 hours ago, Victrix said:

It does seem to be somewhat in the same style.

Well, they do differ in some of the diagnostic details that differentiate attributions. The socket seems longer, proportionally, to the blade on yours (Victrix's). And, while both blades are lanceolate, yours is proportionally leaner (longer and narrower). And, importantly, the midrib on yours is flat and quite broad near the shoulders, tapering toward the point. I cannot tell if Albert's spearhead has a defined midrib. I certainly don't see a similarly broad, tapering shape evident on his.

 

Sadly, as compared to much ancient bronze weaponry (including spearheads), iron specimens like this are so exasperatingly difficult to attribute since their shapes and details were often fixed over long spans (of time) and great distances. And sometimes, it seems, sellers just make up attributions as they go along, figuring no one will know the difference. (For my own  collection of spearheads, daggers, and such, I only add items that I can confidently attribute based on specific scholarly references, and I catalog them as such.)

 

Here is a specimen that, while probably a bit larger, seems generally close to yours - it is iron with flat/tapering midrib, and elongated lanceolate blade. It was auctioned in January of last year (the first link) with, IMO, an inflated estimate. It was passed. It (the exact same spearhead - identifiable by the rust pattern) has now showed up again in an auction in NY. (The second link.) In the span of a year, this spearhead has gone from "Celtic Iron Age La Tene - 5th to 1st century BCE" to "Ancient Luristan - c. 1000-600BC."). I can safely say that the Luristani attribution is incorrect. (I don't know much, but I do know Luristani weaponry.)

https://www.invaluable.com/auction-lot/celtic-iron-age-la-tene-forged-iron-spear-head-15-c-b03427ebdd

https://www.liveauctioneers.com/item/173518589_ancient-luristan-iron-socketed-spear-head-c1000-600-bc

 

Edited March 18 by Kamnaskires

[Victrix]

8 hours ago, Kamnaskires said:

Well, they do differ in some of the diagnostic details that differentiate attributions. The socket seems longer, proportionally, to the blade on yours (Victrix's). And, while both blades are lanceolate, yours is proportionally leaner (longer and narrower). And, importantly, the midrib on yours is flat and quite broad near the shoulders, tapering toward the point. I cannot tell if Albert's spearhead has a defined midrib. I certainly don't see a similarly broad, tapering shape evident on his.

 

Sadly, as compared to much ancient bronze weaponry (including spearheads), iron specimens like this are so exasperatingly difficult to attribute since their shapes and details were often fixed over long spans (of time) and great distances. And sometimes, it seems, sellers just make up attributions as they go along, figuring no one will know the difference. (For my own  collection of spearheads, daggers, and such, I only add items that I can confidently attribute based on specific scholarly references, and I catalog them as such.)

 

Here is a specimen that, while probably a bit larger, seems generally close to yours - it is iron with flat/tapering midrib, and elongated lanceolate blade. It was auctioned in January of last year (the first link) with, IMO, an inflated estimate. It was passed. It (the exact same spearhead - identifiable by the rust pattern) has now showed up again in an auction in NY. (The second link.) In the span of a year, this spearhead has gone from "Celtic Iron Age La Tene - 5th to 1st century BCE" to "Ancient Luristan - c. 1000-600BC."). I can safely say that the Luristani attribution is incorrect. (I don't know much, but I do know Luristani weaponry.)

https://www.invaluable.com/auction-lot/celtic-iron-age-la-tene-forged-iron-spear-head-15-c-b03427ebdd

https://www.liveauctioneers.com/item/173518589_ancient-luristan-iron-socketed-spear-head-c1000-600-bc

 

It allegedly was found in Belgium. I'm not sure how easy it is to fake these so it might be a fake for all I know. Bought it back when I was nooby and found it nice for display but I always felt a bit uncertain over it. It can be much newer and maybe even medieval but I always found veins of the blade giving me ancient vibes but who knows 😛

[antwerpen2306]

I am sure it was not found here in my garden in Antwerp 😁 maybe in the garden of my second house in Rettigny ( Belgium Luxemburg, near Germany and Luxemburg) where the Ourthe river forms a border... Seriously now, I think your spearhead is not fake, but from a later period.; I think with a split socket, it is not Roman but earlier medieval, but all this weapons are a mystery for me. It is a beautiful object, take your time to make some investigations and I am sure it will be a very nice object for you. I agree with @Kamnaskires he kows a lot more than we two, hen selling objects as this, the sellers tells what he like to tell.