Find Spot record MWX4514 - Bronze Age sword found in the Backwater, Weymouth

A leaf shaped sword, with the hilt broken off above four rivet holes and the tip of the blade missing, dredged from the Backwater in 1900 and now in the Ashmolean Museum. <1>

Now in the Dorset County Museum. <2>

Although the Borough Engineer is responsible for dredging operations, no records of finds are kept. Pre c.1920 the area known as the Backwater included the whole of Radipole Lake.

No further information regarding the site of their find was obtained during field investigation. The sword was seen in the Dorset County Museum, & according to the display card came from the Evans Collection. & Ashmolean Museum. <3>

Cowen classifies the sword as a Halstatt. DCM Acc No 1939.35.1. <4>

Weymouth Backwater: a Bronze age Sword recovered from the north side of Westham Bridge, and reported in PDNHAS 42 (1922) lv: "I must refer to the Bronze-age Sword recovered from the Weymouth backwater during the construction of the new bridge, having been brought up in the ""grab"" from a depth of four feet below the present bed of clay. Length 20 5/16 inches, one inch of the point is missing. Dredged from the Backwater during the construction of the Westham Bridge, about four feet below the bed. Reported and exhibited to the Town Council, 16 December 1920." <4>

<1> Dorset Natural History and Archaeological Society, 1937, Proceedings of the Dorset Natural History and Archaeological Society for 1936, 29 Plate (Serial). SDO39.

<2> Dorset Natural History and Archaeological Society, 1940, Proceedings of the Dorset Natural History and Archaeological Society for 1939, 38 (Serial). SDO13165.

<3> Swatridge, G C, Various, Field Investigators Comments GCS, F2 GCS 13-AUG-54 (Unpublished document). SWX1169.

<3.1> Burgess, R A, Oral: R A Burgess Asst Boro Engineer Weymouth, 13 August 1954 (Verbal communication). SWX8403.

<4> Prehistoric Society, 1967, Proceedings of the Prehistoric Society, 450 (Serial). SDO20291.

<6> National Record of the Historic Environment, 451607 (Digital archive). SDO14739.

Record last edited

Mar 8 2024 12:20PM