Roman — Roman; 43-410
Entrenching tool, military entrenching tool
An iron 'Entrenching tool' with a flat, slightly tapering, blade opposing a tine and with an oval socket hole for a handle. The tine swells slightly around the handle socket. The corners of the blade have been bent upwards.
It has been pointed out that, in Britain at least, entrenching tools of this kind are normally only found on military sites. Dated examples from Newstead (Flavian/Trajanic) and Künzing in Germany (third century) seem to show two forms, one with a rounded, tapering blade and long tine, and another with a squared blade and short tine. It is not possible to tell whether this was as a result of chronological development, but the Newstead form seems to be more common. Examples are also known from Bonn (Germany), Risingham, Corbridge (no. 75.4366) and Aldborough (no. 78108361). The London tool most closely resembles the Künzing examples.
- Category:
- Roman
- Object ID:
- 19283
- Object name:
- entrenching tool, military entrenching tool
- Object type:
- Artist/Maker:
- —
- Related people:
- Related events:
- Related places:
- Production date:
- Roman; 43-410
- Material:
iron
- Measurements/duration:
- L 378 mm, W 153 mm, T 32 mm (overall)
- Part of:
- —
- On display:
- —
- Record quality:
- 100%
- Part of this object:
- —
- Owner Status & Credit:
Permanent collection
- Copyright holder:
digital image © London Museum
- Image credit:
- —
- Creative commons usage:
- —
- License this image:
To license this image for commercial use, please contact the London Museum Picture Library.