Hardaker Ron. A Corpus of Early Bronze Age Dagger Pommels: from Great Britain and Ireland

BAR Publishing, 1974. — 82 p. — (BAR British Series 3).Generaly speaking pommels had a three-fold purpose. Firstly to strengthen and cap the dagger hilt, supplementing the hilt rivets by provid ing an end-piece at the heel of the handle which united together the often co mplex hilt components. Secondly to balance the dagger, by providing behind the hand position aweight to counter-balance that of the blade and possibly create acomfortable and protected grip. Lastly, in addition to these functional purposes the pommel often alowed scope for the craftsman to show his ability in producing skilful decoration or simple decorative con trast by providing adecorated end-cap to the hilt, ultimately adding to the aesthetic qualities of the dagger.
Several of the pommels, particularly those which are beter known, have been discussed by other writers, occasionaly in some detail. However, al the pom mels in Great Britain and Ireland have never been discussed either as individual types or taken as awhole, nor viewed in relation to one another. This monograph is an atempt as far as is at present possible to classify and colate a Corpus of Early Bronze Age dagger pommels in Great Britain and Ireland, and to discuss their typology, chronological relationship and cultural background.