Notices of the discovery of a Hoard of Rapier-shaped Blades of Bronze at Drumcoltran, in the Stewartry of Kirkcudbright, and of a Viking Sword at Torbeckhill, near Ecclefechan

Abstract

Three surviving items from a hoard discovered in 1837 are described. They are slender tapering blades with a fine green patina and measure 20, 18.2 and 14 inches. Each has a marked midrib with flutings along the sides. The bases were notched rather than perforated for the rivets. An iron double-edged sword was found in a quarry. The tip is missing and the surviving length is 2 feet 6 inches. The pommel is trilobite and rests on a forked plate acting as an upper guard.