Could someone please help me identify this item

I remember reading that somewhere and seeing a sword with a scale etched onto the blade, but I can't find a reference to it now. I remember that the writer considered the short sword a poor design as a defensive weapon because the assailant would likely be on a horse and armed with a very long saber.

Doesn't change the fact that short swords were issued to artillery units.

 

They would've been used to site the artillery pieces or something, weren't they? To figure out how many feet/yards they would be set apart, so that they could cover the ground ahead of them?

 

Thank You Davey.

 

All good Folks.
I remember driving around in the area with a map that showed tumuli (mounds) and other achaeological sites, they were everywhere. Reminded me of home, I live in an area rich in tumuli. Here are some:

Grafheuvel means burial mound (and parkeren means parking).

 

Thank you for your contribution this item was found in Norfolk. Here Is the back