Arrowhead

An iron spearhead was discovered during the excavations of a burial cemetery from the younger pre-Roman and Roman period (2nd century BC - 3rd century AD) in Masów, the Rycki poviat, the Lublin Voivodeship, carried out in 1953 by Jan Gurba from the Department of Archaeology at Maria Curie-Skłodowska University in Lublin.

It is a spearhead with widely spaced short burrs and a hexagonal sleeve extending towards the inlet. Metal parts of a shield in the form of imacz (handle) and umba (top) also belong to the equipment of this grave. All the weapons can be dated to the second half of the 2nd or early 3rd century AD.

Of course, it is impossible to answer unequivocally whether the weapons found in the tomb could have been used by a warrior. Undoubtedly, the social position of the deceased was emphasised in this way.

The spearheads belong to the most numerous group of weapons found in the graves of people of the Przeworsk culture. They were elements of a spear used for blows from a short distance, a javelin thrown from a distance and a spar used in both ways of fighting. This type of universal weapon is mentioned by Tacitus under the name of framea. The spearheads without barbs represent the melee spear, while the spearheads with barbs are part of the javelin, a projectile weapon. Such weapons could only be used once, as the barbs prevented them from being pulled out of the opponent's body and used again. The weapon was probably thrown away at the beginning of a clash, while spars with spearheads without barbs were used as spears for repeated blows. In the Lublin region spearheads with barbs are known from ten sites.