Slowly we are starting to investigate more and more of the potential precursors for the Sögel and Wohlde blades. This time we are investigating Wohlde precursor blades with the characteristic trapezoid hilt plates such as type Gamprin, Statzendorf and Sandharlanden.
We were very pleased and grateful to have received the cooperation of:
- Vorarlberg Museum, Bregenz (Austria)
- Archäologisches Museum, Königsbrunn
- Stadtmuseum, Abensberg
- Historisches Museum, Regensburg
Thanks to their cooperation we can start to get a better picture of the potential North-South connectivity suggesting not only the exchange of raw materials but also of crafting traditions and ideas. An example relates back to a previous post about a blade from Flörsheim with dotted rivet decorations 7: Hessian blades and early precursors – a similar decoration was seen on Type Statzendorf blade that is currently in the collection of the Historisches Museum Regensburg. The blades are of a different type however and the significance of such shared decorative patterns remains to be seen. Future research including chemical and isotopic analysis awaits to see whether these have an archaeometric connection.
All the aforementioned blade types comparable to the Wohlde blades (Gamprin, Statzendorf and Sandharlanden) in northern Germany have finally been included and it will be exciting to see whether the typological relationships can be support by archaeometric (chemical and isotopic) analyses.