One of these blades, found in the Co. Tipperary,[953] has its hilt still attached by metal rivets, as shown in Fig. 320. The hilt is hollow and is now open at the end, though probably, as Wilde suggests, originally closed by a bone stud.
Fig. 319.—Galbally. 1/1
The hilt of a sword in the museum at Tours is joined to the blade in much the same fashion, but has a mere indentation instead of the central semicircular notch. The body of the hilt is engraved with bands of triangles and circles.
Fig. 320.—Tipperary. ½
A rapier-shaped blade, with a bronze hilt of nearly the same form, but with six rivets, is in the museum at Narbonne.[954] Another nearly similar was found at Cheylounet,[955] Haute Loire.
Some Egyptian bronze daggers have the hilts formed in the same style.
In another form, the blade of which is more leaf-shaped, like the ordinary bronze sword, the means of attachment to the haft are merely slight notches at the sides. That shown in Fig. 321 is only 11 inches long, but the edge has been removed for about 1½ inch from the base, showing the portion which presumably was inserted in the hilt. The original was found near Ely, and is in the collection of Mr. M. Fisher, of that town.
I have a small specimen of the same kind (6¾ inches) from Fordham, Cambs.