Wandsworth shield
| Wandsworth shield | |
|---|---|
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| Information | |
| Weapon type: | Protective weapon, ceremonial weapon |
| Designations: | Wentworth shield |
| Use: | Shield, ceremonial shield |
| Creation time: | around 200 BC Chr. |
| Region of origin / author: |
Britain (now England), Celtic armories |
| Distribution: | Britain |
| Overall length: | 33 cm diameter |
| Lists on the subject | |
The Wandsworth shield is an ancient ceremonial shield from Celtic Britain .
description
The Wandsworth shield is made from a copper alloy . It was found around 1849 as part of a hoard in the Thames near Wandsworth in England . In addition to this shield, an incomplete shield boss , a sword and an ax were found in the same place. In the same year it was donated by William English to the Royal Archeological Institute in London. The shield is round and has a diameter of 33 cm. The outside is decorated with leaf and tendril-shaped ornaments in the Celtic La Tène style . The motif is available twice, with slight deviations, and each takes up half of the shield. A motif that resembles a stylized bird's head has been worked out on the top right and bottom left. In the center there is a shield boss of Celtic shape, which is surrounded by a round, raised ridge. There are rivet holes on the outer edge that were intended for edge reinforcement. There are four holes around the shield boss that were used to attach the handle. The thickness of the metal varies between 1.3 mm in the middle of the shield and 0.6 mm on the edge. The shield boss is 0.75 mm thick. It is similar to the Battersea shield . Barry Cunliffe , describes the sign in his book "Iron Age communities in Britain: an account of England, Scotland and Wales from the seventh century BC until the Roman conquest" as one of the masterpieces of Celtic art. It is now kept in the British Museum in London.
See also
literature
- JW Brailsford, British Museum, Early Celtic masterpieces from Britain in the British Museum , British Museum Publications, 1975, ISBN 9780714113630
- Dennis William Harding, The archeology of Celtic art , Routledge, 2007, ISBN 9780415351775
Web links
Individual evidence
- ^ JVS Megaw, Art of the European Iron Age: a study of the elusive image , Verlag Adams & Dart, 1970, p. 152
- ^ Wandsworth sign on the website of the British Museum / London, available online, (accessed June 19, 2011)
- ^ Barry W. Cunliffe, Iron Age communities in Britain: an account of England, Scotland and Wales from the seventh century BC until the Roman conquest , Verlag Routledge, 2005, ISBN 9780415347792