CATALOGUE

           FALCATA                 
Necropolis of Cabezo Lucero
(Guardamar del Segura, Alicante)


Iron
h: 57 cm; a: 7 cm; e: 1.5 cm
Iberian
Second quarter of the 4th century BC.
 

Falcata - curved sword - with a hilt in the shape of a bird's head. It is made of wrought and beaten iron, with a double-edged blade at the tip, a fragment of which is missing. Parallel longitudinal grooves are insinuated on the blade. It has a rivet on the hilt, as well as clamps attached to the spine and two suspension rings.
The falcata is the most representative weapon of the Iberians, especially in Contestania, and is frequently found in burial sites. The rich ornamentation they usually have indicates that, in addition to their military use, they were elements of prestige and an indication of the social status of the person in whose grave they were deposited. In addition to their presence in tombs, falcatas are represented in sculpture and in the decoration of Iberian ceramics.
This piece belongs to the burial site catalogued as point 36 of the Cabezo Lucero Necropolis.
C.S.: 5723
ARANEGUI ET AL., 1993, 197 f., fig. 39.1.
CABRÉ, Mª E., 1934.
QUESADA SANZ, F., 1997.
VV.AA., 1992.