Witham shield
| Witham shield | |
|---|---|
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| Information | |
| Weapon type: | Protective weapon |
| Designations: | Witham Shield, Witham Shield |
| Use: | Sign. ceremonial shield |
| Creation time: | 400 BC Until 300 BC Chr. |
| Region of origin / author: |
Britain (now England), Celtic armories |
| Distribution: | Britain |
| Overall length: | about cm |
| Lists on the subject | |
The Witham shield is an ancient shield from Celtic Britain .
description
The Witham shield was found in the River Witham , near the village of Washingborough, outside Lincoln in 1826 . The find only concerned the bronze fittings of the shield, as the wooden shield body had rotted over time. During the excavation, there was a picture of a boar on the front of the shield . The picture was made of leather that would rot over the years but leave a shadow on the bronze surface. If you look closely, this shadow is still visible. Several small rivet holes show the position.
At the upper and lower end of the shield there are two round, blown ornaments, which are connected to each other by an also driven web. In the middle of the shield there is an ornate shield boss . These decorations are made of red coral , which was very precious in the Iron Age because the coral had to be imported from the Mediterranean . Similar decors are usually made of red glass (see Battersea sign ) and are made in the manner of the Latène culture .
The shield is kept in the British Museum in London (inventory number 1872,12-13.1).
See also
literature
- Charles Hercules Read : A guide to the antiquities of the early iron age of central and western Europe: (including the British late-Keltic period) in the Department of British and mediaeval antiquities , Printed by order of the Trustees, London 1905, p. 87, 93, 143.
- Edward Martyn Jope, Early Celtic Art in the British Isles , Volume 1 of Early Celtic Art in the British Isles, Clarendon Press, 2000, ISBN 9780198173182 , pp. 54, 61.
- John T. Koch, Celtic culture: a historical encyclopedia , Volumes 1-5, Verlag ABC-CLIO, 2006, ISBN 9781851094400 , p. 1609.
Web links
- Database of the British Museum (English)