Fig. 65.—Leaf-shaped bronze swords, found with a spear-head at Tempo, Co. Fermanagh.
No moulds for casting leaf-shaped swords of either type have been found in Ireland; and it is therefore probable that at the time they were in use sand-casting had replaced casting from stone moulds. The scabbards of the leaf-shaped swords were made of wood or leather, protected by a ferule or chape of bronze, which was fastened to it by rivets; the point of the weapon does not seem to have reached the end of the sheath. There are several examples of bronze chapes in the Royal Irish Academy’s collection, and they display a considerable variety of design. Some are long and tubular in shape (fig. [66]), while others are of the winged or boat-shaped type which is found on the Continent (fig. [67]). Others again are of a small and simple type. The rivet-holes for the attachment of the sheaths can be seen in nearly all the Irish specimens. The casting of these objects shows a good deal of skill, as the metal is very thin. The winged variety are probably the latest, as they have been found with iron swords of Hallstatt type on the Continent.
Fig. 66.—Bronze chapes.
Fig. 67.—Winged chapes.