Introduction 51
blade was forged and only then the socket. The blade was formed by upsetting
and drawing down an iron rod, and in the case of winged spearheads the blade
could even be pattern welded. One type of Early Avar spearhead is character-
ised by a connecting chap of hexagonal cross section on the lower part of the
blade which was formed by shouldering during which steps were formed by
using a scooper.208
The blade and socket of the spearhead could be formed from either a single
iron rod or could be made separately. In the first case, the blacksmith, hold-
ing the blade with pliers, flattened the rest by hammering it into socket-wings,
then bent it by a special method called rolling up, creating the cylindrical or
conical socket.209 The way of shaping the socket is usually perceptible to the
naked eye: sometimes it rested open or it could be clasped together, it could
be closed by a ring pulled over the socket or the socket-wings could be bent
or hammered onto each other. In come cases this hammering could remove
all manufacturing traces. When the socket was fully formed it could be welded
to the blade: consequently, the blade could break off from the socket, so the
neck of the spearhead would sometimes be reinforced by a pierced (but not
bent) ring.
The neck of a javelin could also be twisted,210 a similar process also being
used in the manufacture of socketed arrowheads.
The surface and heat treatments used in the manufacture of spearheads is
also similar to that of swords. Metallographic examinations revealed traces of
cementation, quench hardening and tempering on Avar-age polearms. The
surplus was removed by splitting from the blade by a chisel,211 then it was flat-
tened and sharpened.
The spearheads were decorated by various methods: the socket was inlaid
with gold or silver wires in some cases, and in one case a spearhead’s socket
was sweated by copper.212
The finished spearhead was fixed to a wooden shaft of circular cross section
with pointed end made of hard, but elastic wood (like beech or oak), in some
cases it was even riveted to the shaft.
208 Pleiner 2006, 55; Szabó 2001, 3.6. Open-die forging is not very probable in this case, since
it is the first step towards standardised production, while every known connecting chap
is instead absolutely unique.
209 Pleiner 2006, 55; Szabó 2001, 3.8.
210 Pleiner 2004, 199; Pleiner 2006, 58; Szabó 2001, 3.9.
211 Pleiner 2006, 58; Szabó 2001, 3.5.
212 This process was described by Theophilus Presbyter (1986, 145–146; Brepohl 1987, 291).