CIRCA 8TH-7TH CENTURY B.C.

Bronze spear-heads, together with other types of weaponry and armour, formed the most prized possessions of Villanovan and Etruscan aristocratic warriors. In death, these were included as part of the votive offerings placed in the tomb as a reflection of a warrior’s rank and importance. This spear-head has a tubular socket with two opposite holes for fastening to a wooden shaft. It is decorated with hatched triangles incised along the edges of the blade and shaft, with an off-set collar of incised rope pattern at the end. Cf. p. 88, no. 105, in I. Jucker, Italy of the Etruscans, Mainz, 1991., for the same type.