The Arras Culture in East Yorkshire before the Roman conquest put some cool stuff in their graves like
shields and chariots, but they also had some quirks. Archaeologist
Ian M. Stead believed that their sheaths had wooden cores which covered one side of the blade but only the edges of the other side. The wood was additionally covered with skin or fleece. Has anyone heard of a scabbard constructed like that?
Here is his diagram of what he thought he saw in the graves.
The scabbard of the famous
Kirkburn Sword was covered with bronze and iron but it shows the strange position of the suspension loop halfway down the blade. A sculpture seems to show the sword worn on the back by a waist belt.
