Skares

NS51NW 7 c. 529 174

In late 1991 this particularly fine example of a rapier was submitted for examination at Glasgow Art Gallery and Museum, by Mr James Newall of Patna. It had been found by his father while walking in the area of Skares, about 40 years previously, and apparently lay in an area of peat bog, blade upwards. The blade had been pulled upwards by the finder; had any traces of the organic hilt survived, it may be presumed that these were lost at this stage. Nothing was noted in the area at the time of its original discovery, nor in the course of a visit to assess the find-spot in 1991, and there would seem to be no reason to doubt that it represents an isolated find. The rapier was claimed as treasure trove and, following payment of a reward, was allocated to Glasgow Art Gallery and Museum, where it is held under accession number GAGM A9247.

The rapier is complete except for its point; the edges have incurred some damage and are slightly notched along their entire length. There is a dull green patina over most of the surface with few patches of corrosion and some marks of recent wear and filing. The butt is trapezoidal and retains two well-fitting plug rivets; the heads of the rivets are asymmetrical in the plane of the missing convex haft. An omega hilt-mark and paler corrosion on the butt and along the length of the rivets suggest deposition with the hilt in place. The blade has a triple-arris section, with angular ribs and concave surfaces between. The central rib reaches the butt on one face and to within 5mm on the other; the side ribs reach the butt on one side of each face, and converge with the central rib c20mm from the tip. Dimensions: length 357mm; width at shoulder 55mm; thickness 8mm; length of rivets 18mm.

The Skares rapier belongs to the classic Wandsworth type of Burgess and Gerloff's Group III (dirks and rapiers with triple-arris blades). It is considerably shorter than usual, most examples being over 400mm long, but an example from Horningsea, Cambs. is comparable.

Information from Mr B O'Connor and Mr T Cowie (RMS), 10 January 1995.