Larger than Life: The Ommerschans hoard and the role of giant swords in the European Bronze Age (1500-1100 BC)

Larger than LifeThe Ommerschans hoard and the role of giant swords in the European Bronze Age (1500-1100 BC)Edited by Luc W.S.W. Amkreutz David FontijnIn 1896 a remarkable hoard was discovered near Ommerschans in the eastern Netherlands that included a spectacular object: a giant bronze sword. It was obtained by the landowner and kept by a forester, until it was first documented by archaeologist J.H. Holwerda in 1927. For over 85 years it remained in private ownership and inaccessible to science. Over time this sword, or rather dirk, would prove not to be a singular exception. Instead it is now part of a select family of six discovered in England (Oxborough and Rudham), France (Plougrescant and Beaune) and the Netherlands (Jutphaas and Ommerschans). In 2017 the Ommerschans hoard was obtained by the Dutch National Museum of Antiquities, bringing all six into the public domain.The Plougrescant-Ommerschans type swords are some of the most spectacular finds of the European Bronze Age. They are extremely rare, beautiful, expertly crafted and too large and heavy to wield as weapons. Furthermore, their strong resemblance seems to have been crucial, as all six are extremely alike in design, decoration, metal composition and size (with the exception of Jutphaas). But why?This book aims to unravel some of the mysteries surrounding this exceptional group of larger-than-life Bronze Age blades. It offers a detailed overview of the discovery and find context of the Ommerschans hoard, as well as a physical description and analysis of all finds. Also included is a comparative overview of the other five swords, including the primary publication of the Rudham dirk. The findings are subsequently interpreted focusing on their contextualisation within Bronze Age deposition practices, the importance of the visual cohesion of this group, the power and role of aggrandised objects and their potential purpose within the social and metaphysical realm of Bronze Age communities.1. IntroductionLuc Amkreutz and David FontijnPart I The Ommerschans hoard. History and context2. The one that got away: The Ommerschans hoard found, lost and found againLuc Amkreutz3. ?A nasty den of ghostly apparitions?: The site in its natural and archaeological contextJoris Brattinga and Luc Amkreutz4. The hoard with dirk from Ommerschans: Reconstruction of the place of depositionCorrie BakelsPart II The Ommerschans finds. Description and object research5. The Ommerschans sword: A descriptionLuc Amkreutz and David Fontijn6. The making of the dirk: What can chemical analysis and imaging techniques tell us?Ineke Joosten, Luc Megens, Tonny Beentjes, Luc Amkreutz, Yueer Li and Lambert van Eijck7. Replicating the Ommerschans sword: Interview with a bronze smithKarsten Wentink, Luc Amkreutz and Jeroen Zuiderwijk8. Not at all random: Description of the small objects in the Ommerschans hoardLuc Amkreutz and David Fontijn9. About the great little objects in the Ommerschans hoard: A study into the metal composition, corrosion and wearBertil van Os, Liesbeth Theunissen, Ineke Joosten and Luc Megens10. Shine on you crazy diamond: Functional analysis of the stone and flint tools from the Ommerschans hoardKarsten Wentink, Annelou van Gijn and Ineke JoostenPart III Interpreting aggrandised objects and deposition. Origins, parallels and perspectives11. Does size matter? The Jutphaas find a dirk-sized ceremonial Bronze Age object and its aggrandised counterpartsDavid Fontijn and Luc Amkreutz12. The French dirks: Plougrescant and BeauneRolande Simon-Millot and Léonard Dumont13. British ceremonial weapons revisited: A new Plougrescant-Ommerschans dirk from East Rudham, Norfolk, and its typological, geochemical and landscape contextStuart Needham and Neil Wilkin14. A comparative metallurgical analysis of the six dirks of Plougrescant-Ommerschans typeLiesbeth Theunissen and Bertil van Os15. Unfinished business? Blunt questions about the Caistor-St-Edmund Melle rapiersEugène Warmenbol16. Aggrandised axes at the end of the Early Bronze Age in Central Europe: The hoard from Kläden in Saxony-AnhaltRegine Maraszek17. Strange by design: The Tollebeek spearhead revisedValerio Gentile and Bastiaan SteffensPart IV Synthesis18. Religion and metal rush: Deposition of valuables from the Neolithic to the Bronze Age in ScandinaviaHelle Vandkilde19. Larger than life: Interpreting the Ommerschans hoardLuc Amkreutz and David FontijnList of authors