Sword · Late Bronze Age
Leaf-shaped sword
1300–700 BCE, Urnfield
The leaf-shaped sword is the slashing sword of Late Bronze Age Europe, about 1,300 to 700 BCE, with a blade widest below the mid-point and a flanged hilt cast in one piece with rivet holes for organic grip plates. It replaced the thrusting rapier and was deposited in rivers and hoards. Ewart Park, Wilburton and Naue II are principal types.
| Object | Sword |
|---|---|
| Dates | 1300–700 BCE |
| Period | Late Bronze Age |
| Cultures | Urnfield |
| Regions | Europe — Western & Central, Europe — Northern & British Isles |
Diagnostic traits
Bronze slashing sword with a blade widest below the mid-point, a flanged hilt cast in one piece and rivet holes for organic grip plates.
Identification
The leaf-shaped blade and cast flanged hilt distinguish it from rapiers, which are narrow with a rivetted butt, and from Iron Age swords, which are straight and iron. Hilt form, ricasso and blade section define types. Length is 50 to 80 cm.
Reproductions and fakes
Reproduced for reenactors and faked with chemical patina; genuine swords have hard layered patina, hammered and ground edges and wear or ancient damage at the rivet holes. Modern casts are heavy and uniform.
Cite this article
Stratum Strata. "Leaf-shaped sword" (Artifact type). Stratum Strata pack 2026.09, as of 2026-09-21. https://stratum.black/strata/types/leaf-shaped-sword. Accessed 2026-09-21.
@misc{stratum-leaf-shaped-sword,
title = {Leaf-shaped sword},
author = {{Stratum Strata}},
howpublished = {\url{https://stratum.black/strata/types/leaf-shaped-sword}},
year = {2026},
note = {Artifact type article, Stratum Strata pack 2026.09, as of 2026-09-21; sources: stratum, commons. Accessed 2026-09-21.}
} Citations carry the pack version and the article's as-of date so they resolve to the same text later. The facts themselves belong to the sources listed below; cite those for the science.