Fig. 38.—Half of mould for casting a socketed spear-head, Killymeddy, Co. Antrim.
Another very rare type of spear-head, in which the loops are formed by the extension of the small ribs on each side of the mid rib, must be mentioned. These spear-heads are very seldom met with. We only know of the existence of four, of which one is in the Greenwell collection, two in the collection of the Royal Irish Academy, and one in the Municipal Museum at Belfast. The Academy was fortunate enough to secure a very fine specimen in 1912. It was found with two leaf-shaped bronze swords at Tempo, County Fermanagh,[14] and measures 15½ inches long (fig. [37]). Judging from the associated swords, this spear-head may be dated about the ninth century b.c.
Fig. 39.—Half of mould for casting a spear-head and dagger, Killymeddy, Co. Antrim.
The most important moulds for casting spear-heads found in Ireland are a series for casting early tanged spear-heads which were found about thirty years ago at Omagh, County Tyrone, and are now in the possession of Mr. M. J. Sullivan. These moulds are of the greatest importance in the history of the development of the bronze spear-head, as they show the evolution of the tanged blade to the socketed form, and also that the tanged and socketed forms were in contemporary use in Ireland. The form of the moulds for the socketed spear-heads shows them to be at the very commencement of this type; and it was probable that the tanged type was rapidly superseded by the improved socketed form.
Fig. 40.—Mould for casting spear-head and knife,
Killymeddy, Co. Antrim.