Summary

Sword pommel, hollow cast copper alloy, Anglo-Scandinavian, 9th - 10th century, Little Gill Farm, Abington, Lanarkshire

Accession Number

X.2009.11

Other references

Original description

X.2009.11 = X.IL 982. A hollow cast copper alloy pommel of a distinctive Anglo-Scandinavian type, c 9th-10th centuries. Little Gill Farm, Abington, Lanarkshire. No other finds were made in the vicinity of the pommel and the place of discovery would militate against an explanation such as a disturbed burial, being somewhat outwith the Viking cultural sphere. Nevertheless this finds joins a select group of unusual outliers of Viking material culture including coin hoards from Berwickshire and a sword from Clackmannanshire whose existence is perhaps best explained by the ebb and flow of cultural contacts and influence. Although attention naturally focuses on those richly decorated hilts such as the silver, gilt and niello example from Eigg, the Abington find exemplifies what must have been a more common type, a weapon carried by the middling classes of society where basic utility was as important as any thoughts of display or adornment.

Associated person/people (e.g. excavator/former collection)

None

Discovery / field collection

Date of discovery

Not recorded

Method (e.g. excavation)

Not recorded

Place (i.e. location of discovery)

Little Gill Farm, Abington, Lanarkshire, Scotland, Northern Europe

Grid reference

Not recorded

Acquisition

Acquisition date

2009-06-04

Acquisition source (i.e. name of donor)

Queen's and Lord Treasurer's Remembrancer

Acquisition source role (e.g. donor)

Agent

Image