Culloden battlefield broadsword to be auctioned

The basket hilt and handwritten note on the broadsword

A sword found at the site of 1746's Battle of Culloden is to be put up for auction.

The battle on 16 April saw forces loyal to Bonnie Prince Charlie defeated by the Duke of Cumberland's government army.

Fought near Inverness, it involved the deaths of about 1,600 men - 1,500 of them Jacobites.

Auctioneers Bonhams has put an estimated price of £500-800 for the 18th Century basket hilt broadsword, a weapon carried by clansmen loyal to Prince Charlie at Culloden.

The broadsword has an 87cm (34in) double edged blade, which is incised with an armourers' mark.

Its decorative features include stylised hearts and a ram's horn.

A paper label it comes with has a handwritten note that reads: This was found on Culloden after the battle.

It is due to be auctioned online by Bonhams in Edinburgh from next week.

The broadsword has an 87cm-long blade

Culloden is often described as the last pitched battle on British soil.

It lasted less than an hour.

The battle saw the collaspe of the Jacobite Rising of 1745, and the Jacobites' fight to restore the exiled Stuart king James VIII to the British throne.