Weapons appear to have been less common in the Iron Age than in the Bronze Age. However a fine examples of a sword and scabbard have been found in the River Thames near Little Wittenham in Oxfordshire.

The Wittenham Sword dates from the Late Iron Age (c. 100 BC). It consists of an iron sword inside a decorated bronze scabbard.

The iron sword (now corroded inside the scabbard) would have been worn on a belt threaded through the loop on the back of the scabbard. X-rays show that the sword is about 5cm shorter than the scabbard, and it appears that the sword was damaged and reforged in antiquity. The scabbard is of extremely high quality with intricate decorative features, and would have belonged to a warrior of importance.

While the sword may have been lost in the river, it is more likely that it was placed there deliberately; many pieces of high quality metalwork were deposited in rivers or bogs in the Iron Age.

• Discover more about the Iron Age collections at the Ashmolean
• Find out about the Bronze Age shield from Wittenham, Oxfordshire
• Explore more artefacts from England in the British collections