The tale of the sword–swords and swordfighters in Bronze Age Europe (original) (raw)
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During the period directly after the end of the Second World War, our past and especially the Bronze Age was interpreted as a rather peaceful period. Archaeological evidence of warfare and combat was ignored or, in the case of arms and armour , interpreted as symbolic weapons, not intended for actual use. During the last 15 years this point of view has changed – at least regarding weapons. Traces of use-wear on swords and spearheads, impacts of weapons on bones and of course fortified settlements were interpreted as what they are – evidence of combat and fighting. However, questions remain as to how these arms and armour were produced and by whom, as well as to why different types of e.g. swords were produced. In this work, the manufacture, development and usage of Central European Bronze Age swords will be discussed, showing the close interaction between craftsman and warrior . As a basis, 80 swords, mainly from Austria, but also from Hungary, Italy, Slovenia and the Ukraine, were analysed. To discover more information about the manufacture and usage of these swords, the alloy composition, the post-casting treatment and the casting quality were analysed using various methods such as SEM, EMPA, XRF, NRCA, x-ray, ToF-ND, 3D-Ct, metallographic analyses and visual examinations of the swords’ surfaces.
Weapons, fighters and combat: spears and swords in Early Bronze Age Scandinavia
Danish Journal of Archaeology
This article deals with the use-wear analysis of 204 weapons of Period I of the Early Nordic Bronze Age. The analysed sample contained 154 spearheads and 50 swords and was made up of approximately one-third of the contemporaneous weapons in Southern Scandinavia. The use-wear analysis was undertaken with a source critical view on corrosion and other taphonomic processes. The information obtained was used to see how use-wear and taphonomic processes influence each other. Use-wear analysis was employed to evaluate statements regarding the functionality, or rather non-functionality, of Early Bronze Age weaponry. According to the results, spears and swords were not only functional but also very frequently used. Further deductions can be made from the material. Despite a difference in the scale of fighting, spears and swords show essentially the same kind of combat wear. It is argued that this relates to essentially similar styles of fighting that employ both cutting and stabbing movements and are perhaps most appropriately termed ‘fencing’. This style of fighting possibly emerged from frequent encounters of sword and spear fighters in the closely interconnected world of Southern Scandinavia during Period I of the Early Bronze Age. In these engagements, a partial homogenising effect of warfare and fighting becomes visible. Yet, it is not the only effect that accompanies combat and war. Diversification and homogenisation are not mutually exclusive or contradictive. Accordingly, they took place simultaneously and helped develop fighting styles and weapon technologies.
Bronze Age Swordsmanship: New Insights from Experiments and Wear Analysis
Journal of Archaeological Method and Theory, 2020
The article presents a new picture of sword fighting in Middle and Late Bronze Age Europe developed through the Bronze Age Combat Project. The project investigated the uses of Bronze Age swords, shields, and spears by combining integrated experimental archaeology and metalwork wear analysis. The research is grounded in an explicit and replicable methodology providing a blueprint for future experimentation with, and wear analysis of, prehistoric copper-alloy weapons. We present a four-step experimental methodology including both controlled and actualistic experiments. The experimental results informed the wear analysis of 110 Middle and Late Bronze Age swords from Britain and Italy. The research has generated new understandings of prehistoric combat, including diagnostic and undiagnostic combat marks and how to interpret them; how to hold and use a Bronze Age sword; the degree of skill and training required for proficient combat; the realities of Bronze Age swordplay including the fr...
Ancient Warfare: Introducing Current Research, Volume 1, 2015
This paper looks at the chronological and geographical context of “killed” weapons, their relationships to the types of burial in which they appear, and the other grave goods which accompany these burials. It suggests that the swords “killed” in the period ca. 950-825 are the result of societal conditions relating to the value of iron, the exclusivity of warfare, and conscious acts of destruction in burials at this time. On the other hand, the later burials in Eretria relate to changing factors in the deposition of weapons, new ideas about exclusivity and value, and reflecting the way in which warfare changed in the late eighth century. It also suggests that arguments so far have ignored important metallurgical observations about “killed” swords, and what they reveal about sword use and ownership in the EIA Aegean.
Use-wear analysis and use-patterns of Bronze Age swords
The study of bronze weaponry is older than the field of archaeology and modern research has inherited both benefits and problems associated with this chronological breadth of research. Bronze weapons occur in relatively similar forms throughout Europe, making them one of the few categories of artefact to receive similar academic treatment on such a wide scale, and in various academic traditions. This paper addresses terminological and methodological complications that have arisen in no small part due to the natural application of unifying language and functional interpretations that such a broad scale of research history has attracted. It is argued that such innocuous things as generic names for sword types or broad statements on spear use have a more profound impact than may be expected in determining research methodologies and results. Some paths towards creating a methodological consensus, or complementary strands thereof, are suggested and potential impacts of related changes are considered. A final purpose is to suggest methods to create greater synthesis between use-wear, taxonomic, experimental and archaeometric analyses.