Ferrule

The bronze toque, i.e. spear tip fitting, was found together with a double-edged sword with a copper inlay depicting Mars and Victoria, an umbrella, spearheads and a pair of spurs. It is part of the rich equipment of a warrior of the Przeworsk culture from the Roman period, discovered in a mortuary grave at the archaeological site in Podlodowo near Tomaszów Lubelski.

The grave was discovered in 1959 by accident during agricultural works. The relics were donated to the Lublin Museum.

The warrior's grave contained, apart from the spar fitting, two iron spurs, a sword with a copper inlay on its head - a figural representation of Roman deities, a bent javelin-head with a silver inlay on the leaf and sleeve, two iron javelin-heads ritually bent and broken.

The toque was made of bronze, it has the form of a curly cone. It belongs to the group of sleeve toques.

The toques had several functions. It seems that the basic function was to enable a weapon, which had been fitted with them, to be driven into the ground. A spar weapon was an indicator of a warrior's position. Another role of the toque was to give balance to the weapon by balancing the weight of the spearhead. This made it easier to manoeuvre a spear or javelin. If necessary, the pole could be used offensively. Equipped with the described elements of weaponry, the warrior was a mounted soldier. He undoubtedly belonged to the military elite of the representatives of the Przeworsk culture, which functioned in the Lublin region at the beginning of the 3rd century AD.