Bronze sword of the Arco type from the Sava River near Gornje Pijavko (Posavje, Slovenia)

Andrej Gaspari 1. Discovery

in a secondary position in the top part of the The survey of the gravel alluvial deposits of mound of material that had previously been dug the Sava near Gornje Pijavko, municipality of from the right bank of the Sava. Considering the Krko, revealed a prehistoric bronze sword in time of the find, it is more than probable that the March 2007. The well-preserved weapon from sword originated from the western part of a 400 the beginning of the Late Bronze Age was uncov- m long and 50 m wide dune deposited along the ered by Marija Boltin, an amateur fossil seeker, sedimentational area of the riverbed at the end of

Fig. 1. 1. Approximate location of the sword prior to discovery; 2. Vinjevec Cave; 3. traces of an island in the river; 4. traces of the chronologically undefined course of the riverbed (graphic by the Author).

268

Andrej Gaspari

Fig. 2. The sword was found in the top part of the mound of the alluvial material, which had previously been mechanically excavated from the parallel-lying section of the riverbed (photo by the Author).

the large bend the Sava makes between Blanca and Gornje Pijavko (Figs 1, 2). Other archaeological finds from the mound, which was checked already in 2005/2006, are not known. The sword was drawn, photographed and sampled for metallographic analyses, whereupon it was returned to be kept by the family of the finder1. The record of the find is kept in the Posavje Museum in Breice.

1.2 Sword

Description: the almost completely preserved sword (Fig. 3) has a relatively short and massive blade with parallel edges. The blade is widest at shaped pommel of an almost round cross-section.

the beginning of the last fifth, just before the transition into a sharp tip, whereby the width increases proportionately with the decreasing thickness. The blades lower part has a flat lenticular crosssection with thinned edges, while the cross-section towards the hilt is almost rhomboid. The blade edges are sharp up to the beginning of the blade, which obliquely passes into the bell-shaped shoulders of the tang. The latter is here oval to rhomboid in section with bevelled sides, while it narrows at the beginning of the second third and becomes rectangular in cross-section. The termination of the tang is shaped into an oblong club-

Bronze sword of the Arco type from the Sava River near Gornje Pijavko (Posavje, Slovenia)

269

The transition from the blade to the shoulders has two round rivet holes. Size: entire l. 49.6 cm; blade l. 37.3 cm; blade w. 2.7-3.5 cm; blade th. 0.7-0.9 cm; tang l. 12.3 cm; tang w. 0.4 cm; tang th. 0.4 cm; pommel l. 2.8 cm; pommel w. 1.2 cm. Weight before conservation: 424.6 g. Preservation: blade and pommel of the hilt are slightly bent along the vertical and horizontal axes, which is most probably the consequence of stress either in river or during digging. The blade edges do not show apparent signs of use and are generally little damaged. Only small indentations on blade edges are visible and parts of the rivet holes outer rim are missing. The blade and part of the pommel have a green patina and are partially covered with a light grey carbonate concretion, which is rather unstable on one side. The shiny dark river patina is only to be found on a part of the hilt. Alloy: the sword is made of a bronze alloy, where bronze makes up 90.8% and tin 8.46% of the material2. The contents of both metals do not deviate from the average values for contemporary swords from the south-eastern Alpine area (Trampu Orel 1996: 182-188, Fig. 2). Such contents apparently represented the most suitable relationship between flexibility and hardness for this weapon-intended alloy. Future research will show what can be deduced of the provenance of the copper ore on the basis of the established composition scheme of trace element contents of nickel (Ni: 0.17%), antimony (Sb: 0.14%) and arsenic (As: 0.11%), which are represented in a relatively small total share (Trampu Orel 1996: 202-209).

Fig. 3. Sword from the Sava near Gornje Pijavko. Bronze. Scale = 1:3 (photo by the Autor; drawing by D. Knific Lunder).

270

Andrej Gaspari

Fig. 4. 1 - Le Coudray-Montceaux; 2 - Arco; 3 - Genf; 4 - S. Antonino; 5 - Corbeil. M. = 1:4 (2, 4 Bianco Peroni 1970; 3 Schauer 1971; 1, 5 after Mohen 1977).

Bronze sword of the Arco type from the Sava River near Gornje Pijavko (Posavje, Slovenia)

271

2. Determination
The sword from the Sava belongs to the group of tanged swords from the early part of the Late Bronze Age. Their distribution covers primarily the Alpine countries, eastern France and Italy, while in the west they reach to the Channel. In the south-eastern Alpine area they have been recorded only sporadically and should most probably be interpreted as import (Harding 1995: 18, Pl. 48). Based on the described formal characteristics, the weapon from the Sava may be classified into the group of swords with a club-shaped pommel ( masette in French) and more precisely ascribed

to the Arco type as defined by V. Bianco Peroni (1970: 32-35, Pl. 10: 68-72; 69). The Arco swords form a typologically very uniform group. Considering the strong short blade with a pronounced centre of gravity in the lower third, it is undoubtedly a close-combat weapon designed for chopping as well as stabbing. The shortest and longest among the nine completely preserved examples of these swords measure 42 cm and 59.4 cm, respectively, whereby the hilt is usually around 12 cm long when measured from the rivet holes upwards (Figs 4, 5). The prevailing blade cross-section is rhombic

shaft blade TOTAL

Malcantone (I) Nogara (I) 10,5 11,2 36,9 43,5 47,4 54,7

Arco (I) 11,2 34,3 45,5

S. Antonino (I) 11,7 30,7 42,4 Verona (I) 12,4 35,2 47,4

Este (I) 11,7 34,3 46 Corbeil (F) 12,8 41,8 54,6

Le Coudray-Montceaux (F) 11,8 32,7 44,5 Langres ? (F) 12,8 32,2 45

Port Guillot (F) 11,8 37,8 49,6 S. Antonino (I) 13,1 39,4 52,5

Belleville (F) 11,8 46,7 58,5

shaft blade TOTAL

Genf (CH) Essonne (F) G. Pijavko (SLO) 12,1 12,4 12,4 35 46,6 37,1 47,1 59 49,5

Fig. 5. Lengths of hilts and blades from complete swords of Arco type (graphic by the Author).

272

Andrej Gaspari

with thinned edges, which appears in more or less flattened versions, while a lenticular cross-section is only known in five examples. The tang of most swords terminates in a pommel with octagonal, rarely hexagonal, and even rarer round cross-section. The preserved holes show that the hollow grip of the hilt was attached in most swords by means of two rivets. The rivet holes on some swords reveal circular indentations, which could indicate an alternative manner of attaching the two-piece grip with a clamp. The club-shaped pommel supposedly protruded from the grip, which was most likely made of wood, bone or antler (cf Cupit 2000, 109, Fig. 4). The distribution area of the nineteen positively determined swords of the Arco type spans from the Paris Basin to Srem (Fig. 6; List 1). The great-

est concentration of the finds is between the area north-west of the Alps, where three swords are known from the Seine in the surroundings of Paris, two from the Rhne near Genf and two from the Sane downstream from Chalon; there is yet another example of unknown provenance, which is kept at the museum at Langres. A further seven swords of this type have been found in northern Italy between the Tridentine Alps, Emilia-Romagna and Veneto region, while single swords are known from Carinthia in Austria, Posavje in Slovenia and Srem in Serbia, respectively. Twelve examples are well-preserved individual finds from rivers, five are of unknown or unclear circumstances of discovery, while two examples formed part of a hoard. Based on the similarities with types Ppinville

Fig. 6. Distribution of Arco type swords. Numbers of sites correspond to List 1 (graphic by the Author).

Bronze sword of the Arco type from the Sava River near Gornje Pijavko (Posavje, Slovenia)

273

and Terontola, Bianco Peroni dated the Arco type swords, in the first volume of the fourth series of Prhistorische Bronzefunde from 1970, to the Late Bronze Age (Bronzo Recente), whereby she allowed for the possibility that the eponymous grave find from northern Lotharingia belonged to the developed phase of Bd D in terms of Central European chronology (Bianco Peroni 1970: 33, 35)3. S. Foltiny and H. Reim were of the opinion that the blades in the form of willow leaves, which mark most examples of both types, were characteristic of the transition between Bd D and Ha A1, while they considered those swords with a pronounced point of gravity in the lower part of the blade as typologically more developed form, of the Ha A1 phase (Foltiny 1964: 44; Reim 1974: 22) (note 4). The correctness of these inferences for the Arco-type swords was confirmed by two examples from the hoard contexts: Nogara-Pila del Brancn in northern Italy, dated to the beginning of Bronzo Finale (12th ct. BC) (Salzani 1994, 94) and Noaj-Sala in Vojvodina (Popovi 1964; Harding 1995: 18, Pl. 3: 16), which ranks among the typical representatives of Horizon II (Ha A1, i.e. 12th ct. BC) according to K. Vinski Gasparini. Still, their occurrence in both hoards which include older material could also speak in favour of 13th century as probable period of the use of Arco type. Swords with tang hilts were identified, in some publications, as one of the possible proofs for trading and craft contacts of European prehistoric communities with the civilisations of the eastern Mediterranean and the Near East (Schauer 1971: 13). A relevant fact in this discussion is the absence of direct typological correspondence between the examples with short and wide tangs, which appear in Cyprus towards the end of LH I

(1675/1650-1600/1550 BC) at the latest (Sandars 1961, Pl. 15, 17), and the forms from the area of central Europe and northern Italy that date from the beginning of the Late Bronze Age (MllerKarpe 1962: 262). The two cited analogies for swords with club-shaped pommels from the Near East and Egypt are a Terontola type sword with a cartouche of pharaoh Merenptah (his ten years long reign can be placed with certainty between 1238 and 1204 BC), successor of Ramses II and the sovereign of the 19th Dynasty, found in a Late Bronze Age layer (LH IIIB) of the palace in Ugarit (Ras Shamra in Syria; Schaefer 1955), and a 56.4 cm long example of the Ppinville type from the John Evans Collection, which probably does not originate from El Kantara at the Suez Canal, as was first believed, but was ascribed as Egyptian in origin by an antique dealer at the end of the 19th century (OConnor 1978). The swords with club-shaped thickenings and different types of flange-hilted swords (in particular Reutlingen-Cetona and Sttzling-Allerona) from the sites in Aegean, eastern Mediterranean coast and Nile-Delta are interpreted by some scholars as evidence of western mercenaries in the service of Egyptian pharaohs, perhaps in relation to the confrontations with Sea Peoples (cf Cupit 2000, 112).

3. Commentary
The absence of a precise find spot makes it difficult to infer as to the distance between the spot, where the sword entered the Sava, and the spot where it was dug out. However, considering the state of preservation, this distance could not have been substantial. It is even possible to suppose that the sword lay in an unaltered position for

274

Andrej Gaspari

most of the time, deep in the gravel alluvium and was thereby less exposed to abrasion or damage through the transport of gravel. The supposition that the sword was not deposited at a more distant place upstream is partially made relative by the changes of the Savas course in the area of the bend between the villages of Arto, Blanca and Gornje Pijavko (Fig. 1: 3, 4). The old names of Otok (Island) and Struga (Riverbed) prove, for later periods, the existence of a larger river island with a secondary channel in the area of the present-day plain along the left bank. Furthermore, the plot borders and configuration of the terrain along Gradie and Loka near Arto, as well as on the plain of the Pijavko polje,

(Koroec & Uri 1965: 55; ANSI: 261). Alternating layers of gravel, clay, rock fall and burnt remains were documented in different parts of the cave. They revealed numerous human and animal bones, Eneolithic pottery, two stone axes, flakes, bone tools and an ornamented bronze pin with a preserved head5. Following a visit to the excavations in August 1940, a newspaper article was published, in which the author mentioned an old sword, which was once found in the Sava and, in his opinion, probably came from this cave (. L.: 1940). It is not excluded that the author had in mind the bronze sword from the riverbed of the Sava near Krko, which was acquired by the Provincial Museum in Ljubljana in 1904 and

reveal an old migration of the main course. In the which figured in Loars report in 1930 in the past, which cannot be more precisely determined, journal of Glasnik Muzejskega drutva za the apex of the bend ran nearer to the modern vil- Slovenijo (Loar 1930: 15-17, Fig. 1; inkovec lage of Arto, but it later moved towards the steep 1995: 109, Pl. 31: 215). This sword has rounded slope of the Grainsko hill (335 m). Due to the shoulders and a widening in the centre of the hiltdynamic balance between erosion and sedimen- plate, determined as type Krko of Bd D/Ha A1 tation, this caused also the end of the bend to phases (Harding 1995: 53, Pl. 22: 185). It was unmove northwards. covered stuck with its bent upper half in gravel, In spite of the above-mentioned migrations, while the upper part projected into water. The there are no real arguments for claiming that the possibility of this sword actually being found sword was washed off a land context, though this near Pijavko is, of course, only hypothetical, possibility cannot be excluded. Before proceed- though the arguments against the two swords being with a brief consideration of the remaining ing originally deposited on land are much soundpossible reasons behind the appearance of the er. The first argument is the supposed absence of sword in the riverbed, I should reveal an interest- any contemporary finds6, and the second their reling note connected to the archaeological site in atively good state of preservation, since coman occasionally water active cave of Vinjevec pletely preserved Bronze Age weapons are found (Fig. 1: 2). It opens in a steep rock slope just in settlements, hoards and grave units of the above the road from Sevnica to Krko, hollowed south-eastern Alpine area only exceptionally out in layered limestones about 15 m in length. It (ere, Turk 1996: 22, 24; inkovec 1996). The was the site of excavation in 1938-1940 by Rajko possibility that the swords were lost during the Loar from the National Museum in Ljubljana crossing of the river or in an accident on the river and Otto Auman, an antiquarian from Krko cannot a priori be refuted, though it does seem

Bronze sword of the Arco type from the Sava River near Gornje Pijavko (Posavje, Slovenia)

275

that the appearance of this prestige part of armament in the river is more the consequence of intent than coincidence (Torbrgge 1970-1971: 6669). This is indirectly attested to also by an almost completely preserved bronze rapier (Bd C) from the old riverbed at Drnovo, found in the 1880s (Deschmann 1888: 22; inkovec 1995: 104, Pl. 29: 209; Harding 1995: 27, Pl. 6: 34). To date, the Sava in the wider area of Krko has yielded three finds of swords from the Bronze Age. This confirms the predominant appearance of swords in the water contexts of the south-eastern Alpine area, which reflects a wider phenomenon of weapons in rivers, lakes and marshes across Europe (inkovec 1996; Gleirscher 1996:

near Innsbruck, which showed that placing swords within graves was limited to one person per generation (Gleirscher 1992: 13). The fact that the Sava find is, in regional terms, a rare sword type, also corresponds well with the observations that Bronze Age weapons from European rivers often include objects of foreign origin (Hansen 1997: 30). This raises the possibility of votive offerings of spoils from military campaigns in distant areas, as supposed by M. Zpotock for the assemblage of weapons of predominantly Danubian origin, found in the riverbed of the Elbe/Laba in the rocky straits near Velk ernoseky (so-called Porta bohemica; Zpotock 1969: 361-364). One of the crucial

438, 439; Gaspari 2004). Each new water find of considerations of votive offerings is the act of rea sword steadily increases the probability of this nunciation, since deposition into a river (or other being a reflection of a complex value system and inaccessible environment) meant that the prestige religious concepts of the prehistoric communi- weapon was irreversibly alienated from this world ties, to which the high-ranking bearers belonged. analogous to its destruction by fire (Lavrsen Offering objects is most probably connected to 1982: 17, 18). Individual finds of swords from water cults as well as divinities of springs, rivers water sites and marshes are usually presumed to and special places, and these offerings have en- represent individual offerings, while larger astered ancient epigraphic and literary sources and semblages of more or less contemporaneous depictions. Related manifestations of cult beliefs weapons are supposed to indicate ceremonial also include individual finds of swords, daggers, group offerings. The highly differentiated relaaxes and spear heads on mountain passes and oth- tionships between the spiritual expectations of er topographically significant places in the alpine the person making the offering and the quality of areas, whereby the choice of location for votive the object offered, is attested to by finds of swords offerings was crucially influenced by its remote- made especially for this purpose (and useless in ness and uninhabited character. The high material battle because of the unsuitable composition of value of the offerings (based on import, produc- alloy (Schauer 1996: 389). tion difficulty, or special decoration) was matched Ritual offerings of metal weapons are treated by their symbolic and status significance, particu- by some researchers in the context of demographlarly in the case of swords. The exclusiveness of ic increase and social change during the Middle the latter piece of weaponry is demonstrated, Bronze Age/beginning of the Late Bronze Age, among other things, by demographic analysis of which were brought about by the systematized the cemetery of the Urnfield Culture at Volders exploitation of economic sources. Offerings to

276

Andrej Gaspari

divinities or to the sacred were supposed to enable elites to control internal frictions stemming from the accumulation of goods and power in the hands of a minority, while at the same time they were used to consolidate their authority, power and prestige with acts performed seemingly to the benefit of the entire community (Dal Ri & Tecchiati 2002: 478-480). The above-mentioned mutual exclusion of grave and water finds of weapons could signify that the sword was cast into water as a provision for the netherworld, either on the part of the owner himself or posthumously (Torbrgge 19701971: 121; Bradley 1990: 99-107). Having said that, we should not neglect the powerful symbolic meaning of water, which may at least in part be connected to the concept of transition in burial rituals. One of the probable burials into running water, which usually leave no incontestable traces in the archaeological record, is represented by a group find of two spearheads and a sword from the Late Atlantic Bronze Age in the riverbed of the Sil near San Esteban in Galicia, the composition of which corresponds to the full set of arms of Late Celto-Iberian warriors (Almagro-Gorbea 1996: 45, Fig. 2). The possibility of the swords having being deposited into the riverbed within a burial ritual is indicated also by their special treatment in certain burials on land, where the arms were either hung or set apart from other grave goods. W. Torbrgge states, as one of such examples, the grave from the later period of the Urnfield Culture in the cemetery at Singen am Hohentwiel in the German state of Baden-Wrttemberg, where the sword was put on the wooden lid of a grave pit containing an urn and numerous ceramic vessels (Torbrgge 1996: 575). The presence of the sword from the vicinity of

Gornje Pijavko in the shallow water area at the end of the bend could also indicate a ritual act advantageous for river crossings, as it seems likely for an important part of individual finds7 and larger complexes of Bronze Age weapons from fords or other characteristic water-crossing spots8. This phenomenon was connected by some researchers with ritual duels known from the legends of the Celts from the modern British Isles (Louis 1954). The Ulster Cycle, a collection of Old and Middle Irish tales, mentions a hero by the name of C Chulainn, who used a ga bolg, a spear-like weapon, in two such duels. The spear, received by the hero from the hands of the water spirit, had magical powers only while in water. The weapon once lost in battle was not permitted to be retrieved, since it was consecrated to the spirit who offered him the weapon in the first place (Wehrberger & Wieland 1999: 241). Parallels to the Celtic duels in fords can be found in the custom of seeking justice (Holmgang) in the Nordic sagas and legal codices. In its original sense, the expression refers to a duel on an island or a reef, from where only one of the participants, according to the saga of Egill Skallagrimsson, a Viking skald from the 10th century, could return alive (Torbrgge 1996: 578, 579). With the Germanic peoples, such encounters usually took place at full moon, often on a river island (Holm). Although attractive, interpretations of this sort concerning water finds of swords from the Bronze and Late Iron Ages remain without firm archaeological proof, since they are negated by the scarcity of documented traces of blows on the blades, as well as a high percentage of swords in their scabbards, which does not correspond with either an offensive or defensive stance (Dumont 2002: 161, 162). Possible exceptions are the (Late?) La

Bronze sword of the Arco type from the Sava River near Gornje Pijavko (Posavje, Slovenia)

277

Tne rapiers with bulbous pommels (Knollenknaufschwert), known almost exclusively from riverbeds in eastern France and southern Germany, some of which show damage that was doubtlessly inflicted in battle (Wehrberger & Wieland 1999: 237-241, Fig. 2). One of the rare individually found bronze swords from the southeastern Alpine area with documented intentional damage is a solid-hilted sword of the Schwaig type from Tultschnig (anje) near Klagenfurt (Celovec) in Carinthia. The tip of this sword bent and broke off due to high stress, probably caused by pressure against stone (Gleirscher 1992: 9, Figs 1,2). An interesting thesis on weapons from riverbeds was proposed by P. Lebel in the 1950s. Based on numerous spearheads and other weapons from the area of the paved passage across the Marne at Brasles (dp. Aisne), he inferred duels on rivers that formed natural barriers between the areas of different communities (Lebel 1953). J. Lavrsen also tied her study on water finds of prehistoric metal weapons from the rivers of northern Italy in 1982 to the concept of a border river. She proposed that Bronze Age swords usually appear on the edges of main settlement areas, while concentrations of swords in the River Sile led her to ask herself whether it perhaps represented a border river (Lavrsen 1982: 20). The relatively fragmentary state of knowledge on the spatial and chronological structure of the settlement in the wider surroundings of Krko prevents us from forming better founded inferences in connection with the possible reasons behind the deposition of swords as mentioned above, although their concentration in a topographically prominent passage from the narrow valley of the Sava into the open flat area of the

Krko polje is not surprising. The importance of this passage for communication is further underlined by an, as yet, unlocalized settlement, which was accompanied by the Bronze Age cemetery at adovinek (Lazar 1992), as well as by the remains of an early settlement at Dunaj near Mladevine (ANSl: 260), opposite of the hill topped by Castle Brestanica, and Stari grad near Krko, from where the most direct control over the entry into the Sava gorge was possible.

List 1
1. Arco, Prov. Trento, Alto Adige. From the riverbed of the Sarca. L. 45.5 cm; hilt l. 11.2 cm (Bianco Peroni 1970: 34, Pl. 10: 68). Fig. 4: 2. 2. Verona, Borgo S. Pancrazio, Prov. Verona, Veneto. From the riverbed of the Adige. L. 47.6 cm; hilt l. 12.4 cm (Marinis 1984: 46,47, Fig. 45: c). 3. Nogara, Pila del Brancn. Prov. Verona, Veneto. Hoard. L. 54.7 cm; hilt l. 11.2 cm (Salzani 1994: 83, Fig. 1: 3). 4. S. Antonino, Ricchetti sandpit, Prov. Treviso, Veneto. From the riverbed of the Sile. L. 42.0 cm; hilt l. 11.7 cm (Bianco Peroni 1970: 34, Pl. 10: 70). 5. S. Antonino, Nardellotto sandpit, Prov. Treviso, Veneto. From the riverbed of the Sile. L. 52.5 cm; hilt l. 13.05 cm (Bianco Peroni 1970: 34, Pl. 10: 71). Fig. 4: 4. 6. Este, Canevedo, Prov. Padova, Veneto. Circumstance of discovery unknown. L. 46.0 cm; hilt l. 11.7 cm (Bianco Peroni 1970: 34, Pl. 10: 69). 7. Malcantone. Prov. Piacenza. Emilia-Romagna. From the riverbed of the Po. L. 47.4 cm; hilt l. 10.5 cm (Marini Calvani 1997: 726, Fig. 429: 1). 8. Genf. From the bed of the left branch of the Rhne. L. 47.1 cm; hilt l. 12.1 cm (Schauer 1970: 87, Pl. 43: 292). Fig. 4: 3. 9. Genf. From the riverbed of the Rhne. Pres. l. 35.1 cm (Schauer 1970: 87, Pl. 43: 293). 10. Le Coudray-Montceaux, dp. Essone. From the riverbed of the Seine. Pres. l. 44.5 cm; hilt l. 11.8 cm (Mohen 1977: 93, No. 233). Fig. 4: 1. 11. Corbeil, dp. Essone. From the riverbed of the Seine. L. 54.6 cm; hilt l. 12.8 cm (Mohen 1977: 93, No. 234). Fig. 4: 5.

278

Andrej Gaspari sively in the bronzo recente phase (Bianco Peroni 1970: 35, Pl. 11: 79). 4 This characteristic is visible also with some swords of the Biandronno type, which are distinguished from the examples treated here only by a thickening on the hilt tang and the absence of rivet holes. It is also revealing that the areas of distribution of the Arco and Biandronno sword types do not overlap, but are adjacent (Bianco Peroni 1970: 36-39, Pl. 12: 83-86; cf Cupit 2000: 112, Fig. 5). 5 Today the cave appears completely uninhabitable. According to the explanation by Dr. F. Leben, water gushed into the cave some time after the excavation, which almost completely washed away the layers with archaeological content. For this information I would kindly like to thank Mag. Drako Josipovi. 6 The fact that practically no non-metal finds are known from the Sava from the archaeological periods probably does not signify their absence, but rather attests to the poorer conditions for their preservation. 7 One of the clearest examples from the surrounding area is a sword with a hilt plate uncovered still in its scabbard in the riverbed of the Dalmatian Cetina, in the area of the Mali Drini ford near Trilj (Miloevi 1999: Fig. 2; Harding 1995: 58, Pl. 24: 195). 8 Such a background for the present-day territory of Slovenia is particularly likely for the site in the riverbed of the Sava near Medvode (cf inkovec 1996: 156-162, Figs 16,17; Gaspari 2007: 241).

12. Unknown site, dp. Essone. L. 59.0 cm; hilt l. 124 cm (Mohen 1977: 93, No. 235). 13. Belleville, dp. Rhne. From the riverbed of the Sane. L. 58.5 cm; hilt l. 11.8 cm (Bonnamour 1990: 33, Fig. 19: 23). 14. Port Gulliot, dp. Rhne. From the riverbed of the Sane. L. ca 49.6 cm; hilt l. 11.8 cm (Bonnamour 1969: 21, 22, Pl. 25: 38). 15. Unknown site. Kept at the Muse de Langres, dp. Haute-Marne. L. 45.0 cm; hilt l. 12.8 cm (Mouton 1954: 48, Pl. 5: 30). 16. Unknown site in France. Blackmore Collection in Salisbury. L. ca 42.5 cm (Oakeshott 1960: 27, Fig. 4). 17. Ardetschitza-graben bei Rosenbach, Gde. St. Jakob im Rosenthal. Circumstances of discovery unknown (ravine of the stream Weienbach/Bela or unknown hoard from Carinthia). Pres. l. 22 cm; hilt l. 11.7 cm (Foltiny 1964: 42, Fig. 1: 3; Schauer 1970: 87, Pl. 43: 291). 18. Gornje Pijavko, ob. Krko. From the riverbed of the Sava. L. 49.6 cm; hilt l. 12.4 cm. 19. Sala Noajski, ob. Sremska Mitrovica. Hoard. Three fragments of a sword. Pres. l. ca. 19.3 + 18.7 cm; hilt l. 13.5 cm (Harding 1995: 18, Pl. 3: 16).

Notes:
1 I would sincerely like to thank Marija and Toma Boltin for allowing me to publish the sword. I also thank Matic Brenk for providing information on the find. 2 Rafko Urankar took two samples, 1mm in diameter, from the bell-shaped widening of the hilt. The metallographic analysis in the ICP-AES technique was conducted by Dr. Alenka Kocijan from the Institute of Metals and Technology (IMT) within the research programme P60283 of the National Museum of Slovenia, entitled Movable Archaeological Heritage: Archaeological and Archaeometric Research, led by Dr. Neva Trampu Orel. I would like to thank all, especiallly Dr. Trampu Orel, for allowing me to publish the results of the analysis. 3 Bianco Peroni 1970: 33, 35. The date of the Terontola type is provided by swords from a Bd D grave unit from Baierdorf in Lower Austria (Schauer 1971: Pl. 44: 299). This approximate determination is supported by a less well preserved example conditionally ascribed to the type, from the Canegrate cemetery in Lombardy, where burial took place, according to Bianco Peroni, exclu-

Bibliography:
Almagro-Gorbea, M., 1996, Sacred Places and Cults of Late Bronze Age Tradition in Celtic Hispania. In P. Schauer (ed.), Archologische Forschungen zum Kultgeschehen in der jngeren Bronzezeit und frhen Eisenzeit Alteuropas. Ergebnise eines Kolloquiums in Regensburg 4.-7. Oktober 1993. Regensburger Beitrge zur prhistorischen Archologie 2, 43-79, RegensburgBonn. ANSl: Arheoloka najdia Slovenije, Ljubljana, 1975. Bianco Peroni, V., 1970, Die Schwerter in Italien. Prhistorische Bronzefunde IV/1, Mnchen. Bonnamour, L., 1969, Lge du bronze au Muse de Chalon sur Sane, Mcon. Bonnamour, L. (ed.), 1990: Du silex la poudre. 4000 ans

Bronze sword of the Arco type from the Sava River near Gornje Pijavko (Posavje, Slovenia) darmament en val de Sane, Montagnac. Bradley, R., 1990, The Passage of Arms. An arhaeological analysis of prehistoric hoard and votive deposits, Oxford. Cupit, M. 2000, Spada a codolo tipo Ppinville. In G. Zampieri, B. Lavarone (eds), Bronzi antichi, Statuete figurate egizie etrusche venetcihe e italiche, armi preromane, romane e medioevali, gioelli e oggeti di ornamento, instrumentum domesticum dal deposito del Museo, 109-113, Roma. . L., Uspena raziskovanja v jami Vinjevci. Lepi uspehi mladega Muzejskega drutva v Krkem. Jutro, No. 231, 3. 10. 1940: 3, Ljubljana. ere, P. & Turk, P., 1996, Depoji pozne bronaste dobe najdine okoliine in struktura najdb (Hoards of the Late Bronze Age - The Circumstances of their Discovery and the Structure of the Finds). In B. Teran (ed.), Depojske in posamezne kovinske najdbe bakrene in bronaste dobe na Slovenskem 2 (Hoards and Individual Metal Finds from the Eneolithic and Bronze Ages in Slovenia 2). Katalogi in monografije 30, 7-30, Ljubljana. Dal Ri, L. & Techiatti, U., 2002, I Gewsserfunde nella preistoria e protostoria dellarea alpina centromeridionale. In L. Zemmer-Plank (ed.), Kult der Vorzeit in den Alpen. Opfergaben - Opferpltze - Opferbrauchtum 1, 457-491, Bozen-Bolzano. De Marinis, R, 1984, Tre nuove spade della Tarda Et del Bronzo. Notiziario, Soprintendenza archeologica della Lombardia 1984: 46, 47. Deschmann, C., 1888, Fhrer durch das Krainische Landes-Museum Rudolfinum in Laibach. Laibach. Dumont, A., 2002, Les passages gu de la Grande Sane, Approche archologique et historique dun espace fluvial (de Verdun-sur-le-Doubs Lyon). Revue archologique de lest, suppl. 17, Dijon. Foltiny, S., 1964, Zur Frage der urnenfelderzeitlicher Griffangelschwerter in sterreich und in Nordostoberitalien. Archeologia Austriaca 36: 39-49. Gaucher, G. & Mohen, J.-P., 1972, Typologie des objets de lAge du Bronze en France. Fasc. 1. Les pes, Paris. Gaspari, A., 2004, Bronzezeitliche Funde aus der Ljubljanica. Opfer, berreste von Bestattungen oder zufllige Verluste? Archologisches Korrespondenzblatt 34: 37-50.

279

Gaspari, A., 2007, Drugi bronastodobni me iz Blejskega jezera pri Mlinem (Gorenjska, Slovenija) (The second Bronze Age sword from Lake Bled near Mlino (Gorenjska, Slovenia). Summary). In M. Blei, M. renar, B. Hnsel, A. Hellmuth, E. Kaiser & C. MetznerNebelsick (eds), Scripta Praehistorica in Honorem Biba Teran, Situla 44, 231-248, Ljubljana. Gleirscher, P., 1992, Zu bronzezeitlichen Neufunden aus Krnten. Carinthia I 182: 9-18. Gleirscher, P., 1996, Brandopferpltze, Depotfunde und Symbolgut im Ostalpenraum whrend der Sptbronzeund Frheisenzeit. In P. Schauer (ed.), Archologische Forschungen zum Kultgeschehen in der jngeren Bronzezeit und frhen Eisenzeit Alteuropas. Regensburger Beitrge zur Prhistorischen Archologie 2, 429-449, Regensburg-Bonn. Hansen, S., 1997, Sacrificia ad flumina - Gewsserfunde im bronzezeitlichen Europa. In A. & B. Hnsel (eds), Gaben an die Gter. Schtze der Bronzezeit Europas. Bestandskataloge 4, 29-31, Berlin. Harding, A., 1995, Die Schwerter in ehemaligen Jugoslawien. Prhistorische Bronzefunde IV/14, Stuttgart. Koroec, P. & Uri, M., 1965, Neolitske in eneolitske ostaline iz okolice Krkega (Neolitische und Eneolitische Funde aus dem Umgebung von Krko (Gurkfeld). Zussamenfassung). Poroilo o raziskovanju neolita in eneolita v Sloveniji 2: 55-71. Lavrsen, J., 1982, Weapons in Water. A European Sacrificial Rite in Italy. Analecta Romana Instituti Danici 10: 725. Lazar, I., 1992, adovinek. Varstvo spomenikov 34: 321, 322. Lebel, P., 1953, Gus et voies protohistoriques. Revue Archologique d lEst 4: 353-358. Louis, R., 1954, Une cotoume dorigines protohistorique : les combats sur les gus chez les Celtes et chez les Germains. Revue Archologique d lEst 5: 186-193. Loar, R., 1930, Poroilo o arheolokem delu Narodnega muzeja v Ljubljani v letih 1928-1930. Glasnik Muzejskega drutva za Slovenijo 11: 13-35. Marini Calvani, M., 1997, Spade del Po. In M. Bernab Brea, A. Cardarelli, M. Cremaschi (eds), Le Terramare. La pi antica civilt padana, 726-729, Milano. Miloevi, A., 1999, Archologische Probeuntersuchungen

280

Andrej Gaspari inkovec, I., 1995, Katalog posameznih kovinskih najdb bakrene in bronaste dobe (Catalogue of Individual Metal Finds from the Eneolithic and Bronze Ages. In B. Teran (ed.), Depojske in posamezne kovinske najdbe bakrene in bronaste dobe na Slovenskem 1 (Hoards and Individual Metal Finds from the Eneolithic and Bronze Ages in Slovenia 1). Katalogi in monografije 29, 29-127, Ljubljana. inkovec, I., 1996, Posamezne kovinske najdbe bakrene in bronaste dobe (Individual Metal Finds from the Eneolithic and Bronze Ages). In B. Teran (ed.), Depojske in posamezne kovinske najdbe bakrene in bronaste dobe na Slovenskem 2 (Hoards and Individual Metal Finds from the Eneolithic and Bronze Ages in Slovenia 2). Katalogi in monografije 30, 125-163, Ljubljana. Torbrgge, W., 1970-1971, Vor- und Frhgeschichtliche Flufunde. Zur Ordnung und bestimmung einer Denkmlergruppe. Bericht der Rmisch Germanisches Kommission 51-52: 3-146. Torbrgge, W., 1996, Spuren in eine andere Welt. Archologie der vorzeitliche Wasserkulte. In P. Schauer (ed.), Archologische Forschungen zum Kultgeschehen in der jngeren Bronzezeit und frhen Eisenzeit Alteuropas, Regensburger Beitrge zur Prhistorischen Archologie 2, 567-581, Regensburg-Bonn. Trampu-Orel, N., 1996, Spektrometrine raziskave depojskih najdb pozne bronaste dobe (Spectrometric Research of the Late Bronze Age Hoard Finds). In B. Teran (ed.), Depojske in posamezne kovinske najdbe bakrene in bronaste dobe na Slovenskem 2 (Hoards and Individual Metal Finds from the Eneolithic and Bronze Ages in Slovenia 2). Katalogi in monografije 30, 165-242, Ljubljana. Zpotock, M., 1969, K vznamu Labe jako spojovac a dopravn cesty (Zur Bedeutung der Elbe als Verbindungsund Transportweg). Pamtky archeologick 60: 277366. Wehrberger, K. & Wieland, G., 1999, Ein weiteres Knollenknaufschwert und eine Aylesford-Pfanne aus der Donau bei Ulm. Archologisches Korrespondenzblatt 29: 237-256.

im Flussbett der Cetina (Kroatien) zwischen 1990 und 1994. Archologisches Korrespondenzblatt 29: 203210. Mohen, J.-P., 1977, LAge du Bronze dans la rgion de Paris. Paris. Mouton, P., 1954, Muse de Langres, Armes et Outils dAge du Bronze. Revue Archologique d lEst 5: 4655. Mller-Karpe, H., 1962, Zur sptbronzezeitlichen Bewaffnung in Mitteleuropa und in Griechenland. Germania 40: 255-287. OConnor, B., 1978, Zum Griffangelschwert von El Kantara (gypten). Archologisches Korrespon-denzblatt 8: 187, 188. Oakeshott, E., 1960: The archaeology of weapons. Arms and armour from prehistory to the age of chivalry, Woodbridge (2002). Popovi, D., 1964, Ostava iz Salaa Noajskog. Rad Vojvoanskih muzeja 12-13: 5-21. Reim, H., 1974, Bronze- und urnenfelderzeitliche Griffangelschwerter im nordwestlichen Voralpenraum und in Oberitalien. Archologisches Korrespondenzblatt 4: 17-26. Salzani, L. 1994, Nogara. Rivenimento di un ripostiglio di bronzi in localit Pila del Brancn. Quaderni del archeologia del Veneto X: 83-94. Sandars, N. K., 1961, The First Aegean Swords and Their Ancestry. American Journal of Archaeology 65: 17-29. Schauer, P., 1971, Die Schwerter in Sddeutschland, sterreich und der Schweiz I. Prhistorische Bronzefunde IV/2, Mnchen. Schauer, P., 1996, Naturheilige Pltze, Opfersttten, Deponierungsfunde und Symbolgut der jngeren Bronzezeit Sddeutschlands. In P. Schauer (ed.), Archologische Forschungen zum Kultgeschehen in der jngeren Bronzezeit und frhen Eisenzeit Alteuropas, Regensburger Beitrge zur Prhistorischen Archologie 2, 381-416, Regensburg-Bonn. Schaeffer, C. F. A., 1955: A Bronze Sword from Ugarit with Cartouche of Mineptah (Ras Shamra, Syria). Antiquity 29: 226-229.