A sword

The presented bronze sword was found together with another sword in Dalewo. Most probably, it was an intentionally made deposit. The sword has a handle with a plate-like pummel, a tapered guard, and a wide blade. It has rich decorations in the form of dots and cuts. The distinctive features of this sword are three ribs on the handle and one rib on the blade. It represents the so-called Liptov type, which is unique to the Western Pomerania region. Probably it originated from the Carpathian basin or from the Danube basin, which constitutes the extensive contact network of the local population. It should be dated to the Late Bronze Age (ca. 1200–1000 BC).

Swords indicated the social status of a man over the Bronze Age. Usually, the discoveries are made in richly furnished burials of men or in bogs, where they were placed as votive offerings to deities supposedly linving in the lakes or bogs. There is a belief that they were not meant for fighting and had solely ritual or social functions. Metallurgy analyses had confirmed that a part of the findings had no marks of use or repair. What is more, casting flaws may indicate that these swords were made exclusively for ritual purposes. The basic weapons used were the spears, due to their better effectiveness and cost-efficiency.

Monika Witek