Gaulish spear and javelin heads

[Andy]

I am looking for some images of Gaulish spear and javelin heads for possible reproductions.

In particular I am looking for the long spear head type with the central mid rib. Does anybody have any pictures please? Also looking for javelin head images but alas I can not find any. Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Andy

[Conal]

Try to find these books;

Brunaux&Lambot "Guerre et Armament chez les Gaulois" and A. Rapin's "Gournay II, Boucliers et Lances"

Both in French but some good line drawings.

[Phalanx300]

http://www.armae.com/Zenglish/greek_and ... _frame.htm

http://www.manningimperial.com/list.php ... group_id=1

Here you can find a few remakes of them.

[Gaius Julius Caesar]

I have a few, will need to dig them out though!

[Marcus Mummius]

I got this one from armae:



It's very nice. I'm going to use it as a vexillum tip.

[Gaius Julius Caesar]

Not the clearest of pictures, but are these of any interest?

[Andy]

Thanks for the replies. The one I was thinking of was the manning imperial http://www.manningimperial.com/item.php ... d=1&c_id=3 and http://www.manningimperial.com/item.php ... d=1&c_id=3

I am thinking these are suitable for gallic war period celt. If not then which style would be more suitable? I have many images of spears just not the info relating to location and date.
If anyone can help me identify these spears that would be great.

[Phalanx300]

Well Manning Imperial also post the dates in which the weapons were used, not sure if its fully accurate. I think the second spear you posted could also act as a Germanic spear head since those were known to be large.

[Andy]

I think that the dates Manning give are fairly broad. I am hoping for something a little more specific.
Can anybody help with the two images I have posted?

[Patrick M]

Hello,

the pictures are too small to see exactly where are thr from and which period. Spears are sometimes smaller in the celtic period and not always big ones of about 40cm +. If you are happy with some pictures and dessigns oft late laténe spearheads from south west germany i can take a look in our libary at the university saarbrücken.
Maybe you should check out the ambiani website.

[Robert]

Hi, here is a Celtic spearhead in the Xanten museum collection in their new museum, well worth the visit. Spearhead is 25 cm long, 4 cm wide , the socket is 6.5 cm long and about 2.5 cm wide at the apex. Still need a swageblock to forge these, but someday I will get these licked as well!

[Andy]

Thanks Robert,

Any idea of period?

In regards to the midrib, I was always thinking it was done with a fullering tool?

[Gaius Julius Caesar]

A nice one on Holger Ratsdorf's site!

[Robert]

Hi Andy,

Yes, you are probably right, but I wish someone would come up with evidence for a fullering tool. That is how it would be done now, but it could also be made on the side of a block anvil, leaving the ridge whem hammering out the head on both sides, or using a depression cut in a block to allow working both sides alternate when the whole piece is hot. This requires spot-on forging, one heavy blow in the wrong place and there goes the fuller! A fullering tool has a given dimension and these fullers run from broad to narrow. So I am still trying to work out how these were really made, given archeological evidence. Will have to get down to some serious experimental smithing one of these days, at present there is just so much still to try.

[Alanus]

Andy,

About 10 years ago I had the opportunity to purchase an original Gaulish spear-head and passed it up. (I bought 4 bronze Roman fish-hooks instead). Then a couple of years ago, I saw an incredibly similar repro sold as a generic "European spear-head." It has the same fullered ridge on the heads pictured by Gaius, and is now attached to my 7-foot hasta. It's still sold by dealers and is made by one of the Indian companies. It's good workmanship, better than their average swords. Of course, it's already made. So that excludes the fun of trying to work one up by yourself.