Celtic Dragons from the River Thames

Abstract

SummaryTwo La Tène I swords found in the River Thames more than a century ago are in the remains of iron scabbards decorated with dragon-pairs. These designs, which have only recently been revealed, are similar to those on La Tène scabbards throughout Celtic Europe from France to Romania: ninety examples can now be listed, and half of them have been added in the last decade. The discovery of dragon-pairs in the Thames emphasizes the links that must have existed between Britain and the rest of the Celtic world in the decades around 300 B.C.