English: A complete but recently broken cast bronze (copper alloy) trapezoidal hilted / butted rapier of Middle Bronze Age date (1500-1150 BC). The rapier is complete - including the two rivets which would have held the organic (and therefore lost) grip / handle. It has been abraded in the ploughsoil and therefore it has lost its cutting edges. In plan the blade is regular tapering evenly from a trapezoidal hilt to the mid section of the blade where it remains parallel-sided then tapering again at the tip. In cross-section the blade is lentoid, with a prominent rounded central ridge / mid-rib which is present on the hilt and extends to the tip. The mid-rib gives the rapier (a thrusting weapon) its strength and rigidity during use.

The hilt (point where the handle would have been fitted) of the blade is a trapezoidal shape with sharp butt and shoulder angles; the butt (top) is horizontal and it expands to the widest point (56.2mm) then tapers to form the shoulder of the blade (38.6mm). Some metal has been lost from the edges of the hilt, which is extremely thin. On the upper edge of the butt are two bronze (copper alloy) rivets which would have secured the handle / grip. The rivets are dome-headed at one end and burred over at the opposite end. The domed head, circular in plan, has a maximum diameter of 9.0mm diameter and the length of the rivet is 18.5mm. The shaft of the rivet is circular in cross-section, 7.1mm in diameter. IN places the body / shaft of the rivet looks to be deliberately thinned / shaved. Due to the presence of the rivets the diameter of the holes cannot be measured (but are likely to be c. 7.5mm diameter). One rivet is more eroded than the other and the metal around the rivet hole is stressed with the surface patina being cracked and possibly weakened. The thickness of the mid rib varies along the length of the blade, being thickest at a point approximately 1/3 along the length and tapering either side. The rib is present as a swelling on the upper edge of the hilt and tapers and thickens towards the tip of the blade to give the point additional strength and weight. The cutting edges of the blade have mostly been lost, probably though a combination of abrasion and corrosion. The blade bevel / facet is present in places along the length and this sweeps up to the trapezoidal hilt - with much of the exterior edge having a prepared blade. As mentioned the tip is thickened and here the blade bevel is clearly defined. The tip is blunted but tapers to a thickened point. Looking at the surviving edges there seems to be no extant evidence for the blade edges to have been deliberately damaged. However, the blade itself has been deliberately bent at the mid point to create a U shaped blade. At the midpoint the surface patina is lost through a combination of corrosion and lamination. The lower 1/5 of the blade is snapped - this is as a result of it being recovered / lifted from the ground by the finder.

The rapier fragment is a mid-dark brown colour with an even polished patina, which has been lost in places. As already mentioned the fragment has been damaged by abrasion in the plough soil. This is most evident in the chipping of the patina around the blade edges. This has resulted in small patches of light green powdery corrosion attacking the damaged areas. There are also a number of corrosion pocks present. Where active corrosion is present lamination of the patina is considerable and the edges are relatively unstable / corroding.

Similar rapiers have been dated to the later Middle Bronze Age (MBA III - specifically the Penard phase / industry) - Rowlands 1976 p68-70) which corresponds with Needham's Period 5 (1500-1150 CAL BC). Similar examples to this rapier can be seen on Plates 46 and 47 (Rowlands). The distribution of these rapiers has a distinct riverine deposition pattern, specifically in the Lower Thames and East Anglia. This example is an important addition to the growing corpus of material in NE Wales. The deliberate bending of the artefact and findspot close to the river Alyn (Afon Alun) suggests that this example was deliberately deposited within a riverine context in the later Middle Bronze Age. When the object was discovered it was positioned with the hilt upwards and the blade at an angle descending.

The rapier measures 285mm in length, 56mm maximum width 56.2mm and 4.8mm thick across the hilt, and 22.0mm width and 6.0mm thickness across the upper blade. The rapier weighs 200.15 grams.