Dún Ailinne E79.630 Iron Short Sword

Dún Ailinne is **located on private land** south of Kilcullen in Co. Kildare. The first excavations (1968-1975) focused on the hill summit and established that there was activity from the Neolithic (5000BCE) onwards. The evidence indicated that the site would have served as a major center during Irish prehistory, particularly during the Iron Age, and acted as a place where communities came together to enact ritual and ceremony. During the 1970s excavations, over 1800 artifacts were recovered and are currently stored in the National Museum of Ireland. One of the objects recovered included this short iron sword of La Tène style. The sword is 44.6 cm long and was found in a trench considered part of a major timber structure built in the Iron Age. Archaeologists believe the sword may have been deliberately placed in the trench. **This model was created using reference photos in Adobe Medium by B. Reed, head of [Emerging Technologies at the University of Oklahoma Libraries](https://sketchfab.com/libedge).**