| Oxborough Dirk | |
|---|---|
 The Oxborough Dirk at the British Museum | |
| Material | Bronze |
| Size | 70.9 cm (27.9 in) long |
| Weight | 2.36 kilograms (5.2 lb) |
| Created | 1450–1300 BC |
| Discovered | 1988 Near Oxborough, Norfolk |
| Present location | British Museum, London |
| Registration | 1994,1003.1 |
TheOxborough Dirk is a large ceremonial weapon ordirk from the MiddleBronze Age. One of only six such objects acrossEurope, it was found in a rural part of the county ofNorfolk, England in the 1980s and is now part of theBritish Museum's prehistoric collection.[1]
It was found by chance in 1988 protruding from apeat bog nearOxborough,Norfolk, where it had been deposited point down. A walker had discovered it in woods near the village by accidentally tripping up on the base of thesword. Six years after its discovery, the sword was purchased by the British Museum with the support of theNational Art Collections Fund.
The Oxborough find is one of only six largedirks known in north-west Europe, though excessively large versions of other types of objects from this era are also recorded. The six are so similar that they may have been made in the sameworkshop, in which case this one could have been imported in toBritain from the continent. The six almost identical swords have been found across three countries in western Europe: two in France, two in the Netherlands and two in England. All six of these very rare swords are labelled thePlougrescant–Ommerschans type, after two of the sites from where they were found.[2]
The others were discovered inBeaune andJutphaas and a second inNorfolk. TheBeaune example is also in the British Museum's collection.[3] The secondNorfolk example is in the collection ofNorwich Castle Museum and was found inEast Rudham.[4]
The Oxborough Dirk is dated to between 1450–1300 BC and measures 70.9 centimetres (27.9 in) long with a mass of 2.37 kilograms (5.2 lb), making it "ridiculously large and unwieldy" and clearly never intended for practical use, which the lack of holes on the hilt for fitting a handle also demonstrates. It was probably either avotive offering or astore of value that could be retrieved at a later time. It is currently on display in Room 50 at theBritish Museum.[5][6]
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![The Rudham Dirk was discovered in 2002[7]](/mt/?noimg=&dark=on&url=http%3a%2f%2fen.wikipedia.org%2fwiki%2fFile%3aMiddle_Bronze_Age_ceremonial_Dirk_(FindID_551682).jpg)