Sheath, dagger sheath

Openwork bronze sheath-cover. The front-plate, 0.5 mm thick, is covered with an openwork pattern of figure-of-eight units asymmetically cusped - slanting in one direction only. The central area is bordered by a narrow double grooving, the central rib marked on alternate sides by punch-marks to give a rudimentary wavy rib. The top part of the sheath is held by a clasping band with four cups with milled exterior surface, presumbably to hold settings (now gone) and folded over the back, expanding into arrow finials with V-pattern over head, like a snake head (extracted from Jope, E. M., 2000, Early Celtic Art). Found with part of an iron dagger (accession number A20705) 'on the site of (wooden) pile dwellings' on 5 September 1919.