Add To Saved Sellers. Very Rare Large Conserved Ancient Danish Viking Javelin Spear Head – EF Quality. Circa: AD 800 AD 950. Length at 35.1 cm: Blade length 18.5 cm: Socket diametre 2.1 cm [internal]: weight at 453 grams. Leaf Shaped Heads [as per this example]. Petersen types A[B], C [D1] and E, seem to go out of fashion by AD 950 [Petersen 1919] : Other people have suggested that a few leaf shaped heads may have continued throughout the period however, contextual evidence in a accurately datable strata is difficult to find. This is an extremely fine and unusual decorated example of what is considered to be a Petersen Type A/B [variant] Danish Norse Spear Head: The spear has been carefully conserved and 100% of the oxides removed: This remedial work has revealed decorated details to the lower angular fins [three circular holes to each] and the socketed shaft, which details circular incised linear decoration: The spear head is a large and heavy example [nearly ½ Kg] with no retention holes seen to the base of the socket. Extremely fine and of museum display quality: Fully oxide conserved and treated with a sealing of micro-oil. Previously the property of a private Scandinavian specialist collector based in Ebsjerg: I have acquired several fine pieces from this collection over the past decade. Viking Spear Typology – Notes. See picture 10 for a visual typology. Created the first and still most used typology of spearheads for the Viking Age in 1919: His typology is based on finds from Norway and includes some types that are rare or non-existent in Britain: It must be remembered that Petersen was working on dated derived from associated items found along with his spear-heads in Norwegian pagan burials and he often commented on the difficulty of precisely dating a specific burial find. Working on Swedish finds radically simplified Petersens typology into 3 groups based on the method of manufacture: Two settlements in Europe can be used to help corroborate Petersens typology dating, Iceland and the town of Birka in Sweden. Both have clear datable horizons that help us place spearheads into clearly dated periods. Iceland was probably settled circa: AD 874 and out of the 81 spearheads dating to the Viking Age only one falls into Thålin group 1. All the others are from groups 2 and 3: The settlement of Birka came to an end Circa: AD 960. No spearheads of K/M or M types were found there, which would help to confirm a late dating of these sometimes-decorated spearheads. Available with a unique Ancientpasts. A unique AP Certificate of Authenticity is available upon sale. The item “Very Rare Large Conserved Ancient Danish Viking Spear Head EF Quality” is in sale since Tuesday, May 14, 2019. This item is in the category “Antiques\Antiquities\Prehistoric”. The seller is “ancientpasts” and is located in Peterborough. This item can be shipped worldwide.
- Provenance: AP Private Collection formed in the 1990s
- Colour: Black
- Type: Spears
- Material: Cast Iron