I have a shorter example (5½ inches) from Old Kilpatrick, Dumbartonshire, Scotland; one from Termon, Co. Tyrone, is engraved in the Archæological Journal.[1246]
In some the blade is proportionally wider and shorter. I have one from near Enniskillen (7¼ inches), in which the blade between the socket and the ribs is so thin that two long holes have been eaten or worn through it, giving it the appearance of belonging to the perforated class to be subsequently described.
An Irish specimen much like Fig. 397 is engraved in “Horæ Ferales.”[1247]
A small broad-bladed form is of very common occurrence in Ireland. An example is given in Fig. 398. Another is engraved by Wilde (Fig. 369). Some have two diagonal ribs on each side of the blade instead of only one. A rather more pointed form is given by Vallancey.[1248] There are others figured in the “Horæ Ferales.”[1249]
This type is of rare occurrence in England, but one (4½ inches?) much like Fig. 398 was ploughed up at Heage,[1250] in the parish of Duffield, Derbyshire, and another (4⅝ inches) was found near Lincoln.[1251]
A gracefully shaped spear-head, with parallel beadings upon the blade, and having very flat loops with pointed oval faces on the socket, was found in the Thames, and formed part of the Roach Smith Collection, now in the British Museum. It is shown in Fig. 399, and appears to be unique of its kind. A plain spear-head (7 inches) of much the same form, and another of the same length, but wider and flatter, were found at Edington Burtle, Somerset, and are now in the Museum at Taunton.
Fig. 401.—Near Ballymena. ½ —
A very remarkable specimen in the Royal Irish Academy is engraved as Fig. 400. It has already been figured on a small scale by Wilde, who thus describes it:[1252] “A long narrow spear with concave or recurved sides, and long lozenge-shaped loops on each side of the socket, where the circular form of that portion of the weapon becomes angular. Narrow lateral ridges connect these loops with the base of the blade, which has hollow bevelled edges, and is as sharp as the day it came from the mould. The socket margin is decorated with a fillet of five elevations, and a double linear engraved or punched ornament forming a triangular pattern like that seen in some antique gold ornaments. A sharp ridge extends along the middle of the socket from the loops to the point, on each side of which, as well as in the angles between the blade and the socket, there are lines of small oval punched indentations apparently effected by the hand.”
In one of the looped forms both the blade and the socket are often highly ornamented. The socket part is made to appear somewhat like a haft to the blade, as in the Arreton Down specimen (Fig. 328), and the blade itself has ridges running nearly parallel to the edges, the midrib being almost square in section. An example of this kind from Ballymena is, by the kindness of Mr. R. Day, F.S.A., shown in Fig. 401. As will be seen, the socket, blade, and external faces of the loops are all ornamented with engraved and punctured lines. A beautiful example from Ireland (6½ inches), the socket engraved with a double ring of chevrons near the middle, and a single ring near the base, and also ornamented with dotted circles and lines extending down the blade, is in the British Museum. It has two knobs on each side of the socket simulating rivets.