Description:

Roman, Imperial Period, ca. 1st to 4th century CE. Very rare hand-forged iron pugio - a famous dagger that was the type used to slay Julius Caesar on the infamous Ides of March in 44 BCE. It has a wide blade flaring at end where the handle would have met the blade along with midsection, central ridge and two shallow channels between edge and central ridge. The long tang once inserted into either a wooden, ivory, bone or bronze handle, is now lost to antiquity. Due to its iron content the vast majority of the hundreds of thousands of these were lost to oxidation. This example must have either been a river find - where oxygen was almost non-existent - or in an extremely dry tomb or grave. Size: 14.75" L x 2" W (37.5 cm x 5.1 cm)

A report from Archaeometallurgy, Gerry McDonnell, in Wales, United Kingdom accompanies the dagger and confirms metal composition and method of manufacture are consistent with pugios of this time period.

Provenance: ex-private northern England, United Kingdom collection

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#139937

  • Condition: In near choice condition save missing a small section of tang, edges with small amounts of roughness and expected surface staining.

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October 11, 2018 7:00 AM MDT
Louisville, CO, US

Artemis Fine Arts

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