Relic Roman Gladius Sword

[adrian]

At a recent event a friend, who has been a serious collector since the 1960s and who has some amazing items, bought along what appears to be a relic Roman Gladius Blade. Its previous owner's father had found it in about the 1940s in a north London area - he was a labourer/contractor and I gathered that he found it when drain clearing or somesuch.
My friend has recently re-hilted it, using shark vertebrae for the grip. The blade is 20 inches long and, although not immediately apparent in the poor quality phots I took, the tip is less corroded and appears to have once been hardened - presumably for better penetration etc.
This does not appear to me to be something made in modern times and deliberately aged and I was impressed by it. I thought I would share photos of it here, and gained permission for that. I am interested in any knowledge that any experts here may have of this weapon type.