yes, of course many bronze & even early iron blades had effectively no tangs and were riveted to a wood grip which would rot away. weapons were 'sacrificed' to the gods by throwing in rivers, ponds, lakes, etc. and broken and/or bent prior to that to prove how rich the donor was that he could afford to destroy & throw away a fine weapon. wealth was defined by how much you could afford to give away, not how much you had.
somewhere in there is the origin of excalibur loaned to him by the lady of the lake, and the (not excalibur) sword in the stone being a casting in a stone mould and the return of excalibur to the lady of the lake at the end of arthur's mortal life.
|