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w uh B chapes. Gundlingen swords couid have scabbards with eithcr A or B chapes. Kossack notcd ihat whereas thc A chapes have an even distribulion over much of Western and Central Europę, the B chape variants cluster in regional groups. which are confined maanly to Central Europę (1959. 13 and pl. 151; see also Schauer 1971. p|. 12“ ». He thought that the combinations of chapes with swords couid be explained as thc resuh of different regional workshop traditions. If Kossack's expianation of this pheno-menon were correct, one would expect the distribution of A chapes. and the distribution of bronze Mindelheim swords and iron swords (most of which are of Mindelheim type) to be mutualh exdusve. This ts not the case. as a comparisoa of Figs 5. 6 and 8 sbows. In most of the areas where .4 chapes are found. bronze Mindelheim swords or iron swords are hkewtse represemcd (Great Britain and the Dauphine and Provenęe regions of sooth-east France are escepóons).

In the concext of this artide. the importance of the chapes lies in the elear typological senes which they form (Fis. ">. The long-armed chapes of types A2. A3 and B show a devełoproent front wideły-spread (A 2) to slightly curled (AJ) to tightly curłed(B) forms (tfans A2 to A3 to BU HypotheticaHy. of course. the sequence couid also run in the oppo-site direction: but either way. the typological senes indicates that the chape varieties were not madę comemporancously. The typological devek>pment musi have proceeded over a period of ome.

Fortunateły. the direction of the typological sequence outlined above can be established b> reference to the .44 chapes. These are compact, almost *hag' or ‘boat-shaped* chapes. where the sades of the chape terminate with a point. The A4 chape is cłearly related. via ^t*^>e ‘boat-shaped’ forms. to the 'bag-shaped' chapes of the latcUmfield period. They are al related by tfaor compact. curved shapes. A few chapes docuroent the typological rrlninn^hip berween the 44 and Al A2 chapes. especially one of thc chapes ffom Rekem grave 72. in Belgi tim; but the chapes from Hennenhof and from an unknown prowenance also seem to ptoc tbe dc\ ełopment from A4 to the other A chapes (van Impe 1960. pl- 12.8: Schauer 1971. pl. 124.5.11). NaturaDy, the typological devefc>pment ^mus* ^no* **    •* strietły unilinear: the complex naturę of the development is

shown by the diverging Atlantic and Central European types (Meyer 1985; Warmenbol 19K8 or the devdopmem of ahernative forms of tong-armed chapes (A 1 and A2) from Che hag* and hoaf-shaped’ suhstratum. But the typological seąuence outlined above can be grcn a chroooiogical ‘anchor. and roust run; ‘bag-shaped' to *boat-shapedVA4 to Al A2 to AJ to B (Fig. 7).

The chape assodaboos and typology emphasise once morę that the Gundlingen swords form part of a tradition of weaponry rooted in the Umficld period, and their origins shouid ciearfy be sought at the %tr> begśnning of the Hallstatt period. In contrast. the chape uwiriirinn i and typology lead to ąuite different conclusionsconceming the Min-

dełheim swords. Swords of the Mindelheim type have only been found assodated with B chapes, and these belong to the end of the typological senes. B chapes. like Mindelheim swords, have no convincing predecessors at the end of the Umfield period. In con-clusion, our analysis of the chapes indicater. 1. B chapes developed from A chapes. and 2. The inceptkm of the Mindelheim type shouid be set later than the incepthm of the Gundlingen type: after the period of use of A chapes. i.e. at the time when B chapes were in vogue.

3 Horse-Gear

With the above conclusions in mind. our attention is drawn to other objeets assodated with Gundlingen swords - horse-gear wiQ be discussed first.

In the slx graves where Gundlingen swords were found with horse-bhs, in fhe cases the bits are of bronie (Predmerice, Platenice. Litomerice. Kissing. Chavera nimuhis 16), and in only one case are the bits inade of iron (Plańany grave S. sec bełow). A bronze Gundlingen sword probably also belonged to the grave from Lengenfełd. with earły horse-gear induding bronze horse-bits.

This ratio of bronze to iron bits is significant. considering that in Ha C iron bits were generally much morę common than bronze examples. In Ha C wagon burials. for example. bronze bits are known from only four or five graves. compared to at kast 26 wagon-graves with iron bits¹². To ezplain this high proportion of bronze bits in grałeś with Gundlingen swords. a morę detailed analysis is necessary, involving a typological study.

Altbough the bronze bits of Ha C are all of the same two-linkcd form. ax different types are recognisable (Fig. 10)^,3.

A With simple. plain shanks (e.g. Lengenfełd, Fig. 9,1). A variant is formed by the bit from Predmerice, where each shank carries three rihs (Fig. 9,2).

B The shanks bear plaited decoration. The decoratkm may imitate mouthpieces madę from plaited leatber thongs (e.g. Litomtfke. Fig. 9,3: Kissing, Fig. 9,4).

C The shanks are loosely twisted. with three or four turns (e.g. Gautmg. Fig. 9,5). This type of bit is also found in the later Umfield period (Balkwill 1973. cal. nos 32A, 34A).

D The shanks are tightly twisted, at leasteight times (e.g. Grofieihstadtgrave 1. Fig. 9,6; Tuchomence. Fig. 9,7).

E The shanks are angułar in cross-secóon and diagonalh notched or ribbed (e.g. Pullach-Sud tumulus 3. Fig. 9.8).

F The shanks are round in cross-sectkm and decorated with an engraved herring-bone pattem (e.g. Kolaje-Raćany, Fig. 9,9).

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