New archeological weapon discoveries

[GeneChing]

Cool story...



China Exclusive: Teenager stumbles on 3,000-year-old bronze sword in river (http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/sci/2014-09/06/c_133625745.htm)
English.news.cn 2014-09-06 19:25:51

NANJING, Sept. 6 (Xinhua) -- A child in east China's Jiangsu Province had a stroke of luck after lunging into a river and stumbling upon a 3,000-year-old bronze sword.

Yang Junxi, an 11-year-old boy, discovered upon the rusty sword on July 2 when he was playing near the Laozhoulin River in Linze Township of Gaoyou County, according to the Gaoyou Cultural Relics Bureau.

While washing hands in the river, Yang touched the tip of something hard and fished out the metal sword. He took it home and gave it to his father Yang Jinhai.

Upon hearing the news, people began flocking to Yang's home, the father said.

"Some people even offered high prices to buy the the sword, but I felt it would be illegal to sell the cultural relic," Yang said.

After considering his options, the father sent the sword to the Gaoyou Cultural Relics Bureau on Sept. 3.

The bureau arranged initial identifications on the sword with a joint team of local cultural relics experts on the sword's material, length, shape and other major factors.

Initial identifications found the 26 cm-long yellow-brown sword could be dated back to more than 3,000 years ago, around the time of the Shang and Zhou dynasties, said Lyu Zhiwei, head of the cultural relics office of the bureau.

"There was no characteristic or decorative pattern on the exquisite bronze sword. Made in a time of relatively low productivity, its owner would have been an able man with the qualification to have such artifact," he said.

"The short sword seems a status symbol of a civil official. It has both decorative and practical functions, but is not in the shape of sword for military officers."

It is the second bronze artifact found in the region after a bronze instrument was excavated in the nearby Sanduo Township.

The sword was found in the Laozhoulin River, which crosses the ancient Ziying River which was excavated in the Qin Dynasty (221 BC-206 BC).

It also interlinks the ancient Han Ditch as the "predecessor" of China's Grand Canal, the world's longest artificial waterway with a history of more than 2,400 years.

The 1,794-km canal runs from Beijing to Hangzhou in China's eastern Zhejiang Province. It was entered into the World Heritage list in June 2014.

The city has conducted several rounds of dredging in the Laozhoulin River, which might surface the sword from the river bottom, said Lyu, adding that the township government has prepared a further archeological dig into the river and in the nearby areas.

The relics bureau and municipal museum of Gaoyou City have sent the collection certificates and bonus for the boy and his father in honor of their deeds of protecting and donating cultural relic.
Editor: Yang Yi

[GeneChing]

I split this off from another thread into its own thread. Not that I expect this thread to grow that dramatically, but I love ancient Chinese weapons.


Shaanxi man finds ancient sword while working
(http://shanghaiist.com/2014/11/03/shaanxi-man-finds-ancient-sword-while-working.php)
A 26-year-old man in Danfeng county of Shaanxi province was awarded a certificate and 500 RMB by the local cultural relic department this past Tuesday after he found a bronze sword inside some clay while he was sifting, according to NetEase News.

http://shanghaiist.com/upload/2014/11/shaanxi-sword-1.jpg

Li Lei told reporters that some people had offered to buy the ancient sword for 100,000 RMB, but he turned them down and handed it over to the cultural relic department.

http://shanghaiist.com/upload/2014/11/shaanxi-sword-2.jpg
http://shanghaiist.com/upload/2014/11/shaanxi-sword-3.jpg

According to Lu Qinghe, an archaeological expert, the sword dates back over 3,000 years to Warring States' Chu Dynasty. It is 46.5cm long, 4cm wide and weighs 0.61 kg. Lu added that among all swords that had been unearthed locally, this one is the most intact and has great archaeological value attached to it.

http://shanghaiist.com/upload/2014/11/shaanxi-sword-4.jpg
http://shanghaiist.com/upload/2014/11/shaanxi-sword-5.jpg

In September, a 3,000-year-old sword was found by a little boy when he was washing hands in a river in Jiangsu province.

By Lucy Liu There's a vid too but it's on tencent so our forum won't allow for embedding it.

[GeneChing]

I've held ancient bronze swords like this one. They are surprisingly detailed in their craftsmanship.

2,000-year-old sword found in Henan (http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/china/2015-03/15/content_19813846.htm)
By Wang Zhenghua (chinadaily.com.cn) Updated: 2015-03-15 10:37

http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/china/images/attachement/jpg/site1/20150315/a41f726b0533166f329e11.jpg
A well-preserved bronze sword was unearthed in Zhoukou, Henan province. [Photo/IC]

A well-preserved bronze sword was unearthed in Zhoukou, Henan province, from a 2,000-year-old tomb along with other funeral objects.

The Beijing Times reported on Sunday that the sword, found in the tomb complex built between the Warring States Period (475-221 BC) and Eastern Han Dynasty (25 AD-220 AD), remains intact and still glitters.

The local archaeological department found the tomb complex composed of a total of 21 graves when exploring the underground culture relics before an infrastructure project in the city's Xiangcheng area.

Most of these graves have been robbed and just five of them remain intact, where pottery products including jug, can, spoon, plate, bowl and eaves tiles were unearthed.

Other relics include the sword, two bronze spears and a bronze dagger-axe. Archaeologists said the sword belonged to the tomb owner and was buried with him when he died.

http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/china/images/attachement/jpg/site1/20150315/a41f726b0533166f329d10.jpg
Another piece of relics was unearthed in Zhoukou, Henan province. [Photo/IC]

http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/china/images/attachement/jpg/site1/20150315/a41f726b0533166f329f12.jpg
Archaeologists work at the 2,000-year-old tomb. [Photo/IC]

I'm adding the words 'archeology' 'archeologist' and 'ancient sword' here so it'll come up on the forum search. It took me a bit to find this thread again.

[curenado]

"Some people even offered high prices to buy the the sword, but I felt it would be illegal to sell the cultural relic," Yang said.

This is what a century of ruthless grinding and disenfranchisement does to people. To have dropped all mao's commie carrots programs and be in a current state where they are ipso facto meat cattle in waiting.
If it was anything but a scam for elite $$ & power grabbing, they wouldn't be trying to force it or, like us, the Islamic version of it, all over the world.
"Now give us our sword you found and say! You got some sexy lookin kidneys there comrade - " :)

Americans, "eating bitter" is a lie and "feeding steel" is the cure of it. We were supposed to fight bitter in the world, not tolerate or aid it
9381

[Kellen Bassette]

I love how it's grave robbing, accept when your an archaeologist.....:rolleyes:

[David Jamieson]

:confused:

Archaeology is not tantamount to grave robbing. It is an attempt to rectify our otherwise ridiculous short collective memories.

Even in your lifetime you are going to have moments where you recognize a repetition of something that you took for granted for years already.
The reason for it's repetition is that the generation behind you, does not have that knowledge to take for granted yet.

Archaeology helps us understand who we are historically and how we developed. Without knowing that, within a generation we could be rendered utterly stupid about our past.

[Kellen Bassette]

:confused:

Archaeology is not tantamount to grave robbing. It is an attempt to rectify our otherwise ridiculous short collective memories.

Even in your lifetime you are going to have moments where you recognize a repetition of something that you took for granted for years already.
The reason for it's repetition is that the generation behind you, does not have that knowledge to take for granted yet.

Archaeology helps us understand who we are historically and how we developed. Without knowing that, within a generation we could be rendered utterly stupid about our past.

Archaeology is good. No argument. But if someone digs up a grave and sells an artifact that ends up in a museum he is a grave robber. If a museum finances an expedition to dig up artifacts from a grave they are not robbing.

I kind of get irritated whenever some peasant farmer finds a priceless, ancient whatever and gives it to the government without getting so much as a finders fee in return, when he could have just sold it on the black market for a fortune and bettered his life a hundred times.

In not quite the same circumstances, just recently a bunch of gold coins were found, off Israel, if I remember right. It was a group of private divers that made the discovery and found the coins. I understand the laws says the country owns all antiquities; it's for the greater good and all that...but shouldn't they get something? They did the work, they found it, the stuff would still be at the bottom of the sea if it wasn't for them....but had they kept the fortune for themselves, they would have been criminal looters. Now they're just suckers.

[curenado]

That and other subtleties was what I noticed.

The find is excellent. It is tiny too, like suits of armor from europe. People are like double size now and I guess that counts worldwide.

[GeneChing]

I just have three photos to post here.

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/8/8e/Indiana_Jones_in_Raiders_of_the_Lost_Ark.jpg/200px-Indiana_Jones_in_Raiders_of_the_Lost_Ark.jpg

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/3/39/Armour-of-god-poster.jpg/220px-Armour-of-god-poster.jpg

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/9/98/Lara_Croft_film.jpg/220px-Lara_Croft_film.jpg

:p

Now back to ancient weapons...

[Brat]

Archaeology is good. No argument. But if someone digs up a grave and sells an artifact that ends up in a museum he is a grave robber. If a museum finances an expedition to dig up artifacts from a grave they are not robbing.

I kind of get irritated whenever some peasant farmer finds a priceless, ancient whatever and gives it to the government without getting so much as a finders fee in return, when he could have just sold it on the black market for a fortune and bettered his life a hundred times.

In not quite the same circumstances, just recently a bunch of gold coins were found, off Israel, if I remember right. It was a group of private divers that made the discovery and found the coins. I understand the laws says the country owns all antiquities; it's for the greater good and all that...but shouldn't they get something? They did the work, they found it, the stuff would still be at the bottom of the sea if it wasn't for them....but had they kept the fortune for themselves, they would have been criminal looters. Now they're just suckers.

I had a friend who worked for the FBI. I asked him one day what a person should do if they found a briefcase full of money. You know what he said? Hide it. When ever you need some spare cash take a few bills and use them. The law states that you must turn it in to the authorities and if no one claims it within 30 days it's yours. Only he said that you'll never see it. That money will get "lost" or someone will come to claim it one way or another (even if it's one of the chief's pals) either way you'll never see it. Most always that much money in a briefcase is the result of something shady so it's probably criminal money anyway. Put it to good use.

[curenado]

Thus spake lao fu -

[GeneChing]

...back on topic now. :rolleyes:


The most complete ancient crossbow unearthed with terracotta army (http://en.people.cn/n/2015/0320/c202936-8866342.html)
(Chinadaily.com.cn) 14:51, March 20, 2015

http://www.people.com.cn/mediafile/pic/GQ/20150320/13/10931411048314113533.jpg
The most complete ancient crossbow to date was discovered in the terracotta army pit one in Xi'an, Shaanxi province. [Photo/Chinanews.com]

Archaeologists have recently discovered the most complete ancient crossbow to date in the terracotta army pit one in Xi'an, Shaanxi province.

Among hundreds of pieces of crossbows unearthed in the past, this one is said to be the best-preserved in general, with a 145cm arch and a 130cm bow string. The bow string has a smooth surface which experts believe to be made from animal tendon instead of fabric and the trigger mechanism is made of bronze, according to Shen Maosheng, head of the archaeological team.

Shen also points out that this new discovery sheds light on how Qing, two wooden sticks usually discovered alongside the weapon, were used to maintain and transport the crossbows in ancient times. Although ancient documents often mentioned Qing, its function had never been clearly identified until this recent discovery.

"When we dusted off the sticks, we found three holes equidistant from each other and concluded that they were probably used to hang up ropes that fastened the crossbows when they were not in use," Shen said.

"It was a great way to keep the arch and string in shape and thus maintain their power in the long run. Besides, Qing was practical to help fix the crossbows during transportation."

The best crossbows' shooting range could double that of an AK47, reaching almost 800m, Yuan Zhongyi, former curator of Museum of Qin Terra-cotta Warriors told Huashang Daily.

The discovery of the complete set of crossbows will help scientists to create the most precise model of the weapon and calculate its shooting range more accurately.

http://www.people.com.cn/mediafile/pic/GQ/20150320/69/8749112381437680801.jpg
The most complete ancient crossbow to date was discovered in the terracotta army pit one in Xi'an, Shaanxi province. [Photo/Chinanews.com]

[GeneChing]

Chongqing farmer finds ancient sword, unwittingly uses it as kitchen knife for several years (http://shanghaiist.com/2015/06/14/chongqing_farmer_finds_ancient_sword.php)

http://shanghaiist.com/attachments/shang_shanghaiist/ancientsword.jpg

Government officers from Chengkou county, Chongqing province recently discovered an ancient sword that had been used as a kitchen knife by an elderly farmer for several years.

The 60-year-old farmer, named Yi Shouxiang, found the sword while digging on his farmland five years ago.

According to People's Daily, the sword bearing three written characters was rather rusty but its pointed end and the hilt were nowhere to be found. After polishing and sharpening the sword, Li has used it as a knife ever since.

The value of the sword was revealed when the government officers recently visited Li's village in search of farm tools of historical value for exhibition. The sword is suspected to originate from the Qing Dynasty (1644 to 1912) due to the presence of three Chinese characters which read "Qing Long Jian" (Green Dragon Sword).

Although the sword is estimated to be very old, by polishing the blade Yi may have hampered efforts to determine its exact age. The officers have contacted the local cultural bureau to evaluate the sword's historical value as soon as possible.

By Lucy Liu

[Image via Chongqing Evening News]

This image looks so much like a modern jian (http://www.martialartsmart.com/weapons-chinese-weapons-tai-chi-swords.html). Shame that farmer didn't know what he had. There's a lesson to be learned here about restoring potential antiques.

[GeneChing]

...but still super cool.


A hiker stumbled upon a millennium-old Viking sword (https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/speaking-of-science/wp/2015/10/23/a-hiker-stumbled-upon-a-millennium-old-viking-sword/)
By Elahe Izadi October 23
(Hordaland County Council)

https://img.washingtonpost.com/news/speaking-of-science/wp-content/uploads/sites/36/2015/10/IMG_2738N500.jpg
A Viking sword more than 1,200 years old. The ruler above is about four inches. (Hordaland County Council)

Gøran Olsen had taken a break from his hike in Norway's Haukeli region when he noticed something odd beneath the rocks.

It was a sword. And not just any sword, but a Viking sword estimated to be 1,265 years old and in remarkably good condition, the Hordaland County Council announced this week.

"It's quite unusual to find remnants from the Viking age that are so well-preserved," County Conservator Per Morten Ekerhovd told CNN. "[The sword] might be used today if you sharpened the edge."

Indeed, such a find is not common, according to archaeologist Jostein Aksdal. "It is very special to get ... a sword that is merely lacking its grip,” he told the Local.

The wrought iron sword measures just over 30 inches, according to the county council.

Extracting iron cost a lot during the Viking era, when swords served as status symbols; this particular weapon was most likely owned by a rich Viking, Ekerhovd told CNN.

Officials announced that once the snow melts in the spring, they will return to the spot in Haukeli where this sword was uncovered to see whether they can uncover anything else.

The sword, meanwhile, has been handed over to the University Museum of Bergen for preservation and research.

[Jimbo]

This image looks so much like a modern jian (http://www.martialartsmart.com/weapons-chinese-weapons-tai-chi-swords.html). Shame that farmer didn't know what he had. There's a lesson to be learned here about restoring potential antiques.

In a blade-related forum I'm a member of, a guy asked the value of an antique Japanese tanto he had acquired. He had cleaned the rust off the blade, and he was told that by doing so, he could have potentially taken around $10,000 off the value of the knife.

[GeneChing]

Some really old spearheads...


Hunting weapons made from BONES found in Chinese cave: 35,000-year-old harpoons are the oldest found outside of Africa (http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-3474601/Hunting-weapons-BONES-Chinese-cave-35-000-year-old-harpoons-oldest-outside-Africa.html?ITO=applenews)

Archaeologists found 17 bone tools including awls, spears and harpoons
The bone tools are thought to between 35,000 and 18,000-years-old
They chart how technology changed as prehistoric human diets shifted
Experts say these humans went from hunting medium mammals to fish

By RICHARD GRAY FOR MAILONLINE
PUBLISHED: 08:03 EST, 3 March 2016 | UPDATED: 08:10 EST, 3 March 2016

The ability of our ancestors to create their own tools was thought to be one of the key skills that set us apart from other early human species, and the rest of the animal kingdom.
Now some of the oldest sophisticated bone tools to be discovered outside Africa have been unearthed in a cave in China.
The sharp points, awls, harpoons and wedges were carefully carved out of bone up to 35,000 years ago.

http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2016/03/03/11/31CDDEB400000578-3474601-Archaeologists_have_discovered_what_they_claim_to_ be_the_oldest_-a-7_1457005462128.jpg
Archaeologists have discovered what they claim to be the oldest harpoons to be made from bone outside Africa. Dated to between 35,000 and 18,000-years-old, they chart how human technology changed as diets altered. They are providing insights into how early human societies and cultures altered

They are helping to provide new insights into the technology used by stone age humans as they colonised the globe.

Archaeologists discovered the 17 exquisitely carved and polished tools at a Palaeolithic site known as Ma'anshan Cave close to Zunyi city in Guizhou province in southern China.


DID HUMANS GET TO CHINA 90,000 YEARS BEFORE REACHING EUROPE?
A total of 47 human teeth discovered in a cave in Daoxian, southern China, are promising to rewrite our species' early history.
The teeth, which came from **** sapiens, have been dated to 80,000-120,000-years-old.
This is up to 60,000 years earlier than out species is thought to have first left Africa to spread around the world.
It suggests our species may have ventured beyond the continent of our origins long before they eventually reached China and Europe.
The fossilised teeth are thought belong to a group who left Africa as part of a failed attempt to disperse out of Africa before dying out.
**** sapiens are not thought to have reached Europe until 40,000 years ago.

The tools appear to have been made over a period dating from between 35,000 years ago to 18,000 years ago, charting the changes in technology and the food the people who created them were eating.
Among them were six spear points dated to around 34,000 years ago which may have been used for hunting animals.
However, several barbed points, which were likely to be harpoons, were found in deposits dating to between 23,000 and 18,000 years ago, suggesting they switched to a diet which included fish.
Dr Shuangquan Zhang, a palaeontologist at the Key Laboratory of Vertebrate Evolution and Human Origins at the Chinese Academy of Sciences, who led the research, said the harpoons were the oldest to be found outside Africa.
He said: 'Ma'anshan Cave records the oldest formal bone tools from China, and among the oldest known evidence of indisputable barbed point manufacture outside Africa.
'Change in the hunting toolkit may indicate a shift in prey preference from medium to small size mammals and fish, which needs to be verified by supplementary analyses.

http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2016/03/03/11/31CE11B500000578-3474601-image-a-8_1457005472854.jpg
The bone tools were discovered at a Palaeolithic site known as Ma'anshan Cave, which sits just north of the city of Zunyi in Guizhou province, southern China (illustrated on the map)

http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2016/03/03/11/31CDDEB800000578-3474601-image-a-9_1457005476836.jpg
The researchers found 17 different bone tools including sharp spear points, awls, cutting edges and barbed points (such as those shown in the top left of the picture) which may have been used as harpoons

'This finding provides new materials for studies about the origin of bone tool technology in Africa and Eurasia.'
According to the researchers, there have been only a handful of sites in Africa where evidence of bone tools being produced have been discovered before 45,000 years ago.
The use of bone to create weapons and tools is thought to have occurred relatively late in human history while evidence for stone tools has been found dating back more than 2.6 million years.
The oldest barbed bone tools to be found in Africa are thought to be between 90,000 and 60,000 years old.

http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2016/03/03/11/31CDF73300000578-3474601-image-a-10_1457005480813.jpg
Each of the bone tools appears to have been shaped using stone to cut and scrape them before they were ground and polished to achieve fine points. The pictures above show cut and scrap marks

Large numbers of bone awls – thin sharp points – along with shaped pieces of bone, ivory and antler have been found in Europe dating to between 40,000 and 35,000 years ago.
Many anthropologists consider the shift to producing bone tools, together with the production of personal ornaments and engravings, as a sign of a major shift in human cognition.
It may have been this shift in brain power that gave early **** sapiens the ability to out compete other early human species such as Neanderthals and the Denisovans.
**** sapiens are thought to have first evolved in Africa around 200,000 years ago and spread out from the continent around 60,000 years ago.
However, a recent study showed **** sapien teeth found in China dated to between 80,000 and 120,000 years ago, suggesting a group of **** sapiens left Africa earlier than first believed.
The researchers studying the bone tools found at Ma'anshan Cave said many of them appear to have been shaped using stone tools to cut and carve them.

http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2016/03/03/11/31CDF65700000578-3474601-image-m-13_1457006122778.jpg
Analysis of the techniques used to create the bone tools are providing insights into the changing technology and cognitive ability of these early groups of **** sapiens. The black arrows on the picture above show marks made by a stone cutting tool

They were then scraped and polished to produce fine points. Their findings are published in the Journal of Archaeological Science.
Dr Zhang and his colleagues said the techniques used to create many of the tools appear to be relatively sophisticated. They show how technology changed over time.
Dr Xing Gao, an anthropologist at the Chinese Academy of Sciences who was the senior author on the study, said it also provided hints about the cultural changes that took place in these early human societies.
He said: 'As at other sites from China, lithic (stone) technology at Ma'anshan remains relatively unchanged through time, our study demonstrates that bone tool technology shows rates of cultural turnover comparable to those observed in the Upper Palaeolithic of Europe.'

[uki]

it amazing what is out there waiting to be discovered... modern man is catching up... slowly. ;)

http://www.cnet.com/pictures/swords-from-the-stars-weapons-forged-from-meteoric-iron/

http://www.ripleys.com/blog/meteorite-swords/

[GeneChing]

...but very interesting and relevant. Good one from Scott Rodell.



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NhdFygUJOek

RECREATING A 400-YEAR-OLD CHINESE SWORD IS COMPLICATED AS HELL (http://nerdist.com/recreating-a-400-year-old-chinese-sword-is-complicated-as-hell/)
POSTED BY SARAH KEARTES ON JULY 28, 2016 SHARE: TWITTER FACEBOOK GOOGLE+ REDDIT EMAIL
FILMSSCIENCETECHWEB

The smiths of Baltimore Knife and Sword have escorted us through Middle Earth, fathoms below an Aquaman-inhabited ocean, and into Kombat with a 10,000-year-old princess. Their latest build, however, stems from a location closer to home: China.

The Dan Dao saber dates back to 1616, a period of the Ming dynasty where battle was commonplace. During this time, Ming soldiers defended China’s coastline against the Wokou, a band of Japanese pirates who regularly raided their waters. But as is the case in most tales of war, the Chinese also stole something from their sailing opponents.

In a move that would teach the Ming army how to fight like their enemy, martial arts master Cheng Zong You developed a secret manual (Dan Dao Fa Xuan) that documented the swordsmanship from these battles. “Dan Dao,” which translates to “single knife,” was developed as the Chinese counterpart to Japan’s katana. It’s the longest of the Chinese two-handed sabers, and mirrored by “Shuang Dao,” the “twin knives.”

“Because this year marks the 400th anniversary of the manual, we wanted to recreate the sword using ancient techniques,” explains team member and master blade smith Ilya Alekseyev. “We used ironsand to create our steel.”

The black or red sand is rich in magnetite iron oxide, an ore that is often locked in with silica, manganese, and calcium. Superheating the substance with charcoal not only separates the impurities, but also fuels the chemical reaction that transforms iron oxide into workable iron. This technique has been used in steel forging for centuries, and it’s very much like what we would have seen in the creation of the first Dan Dao.

While not all of the Man at Arms techniques date back to the early iron age, watching the team role their steel through a 19th century press is undeniably satisfying.

http://nerdist.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/smaller.gif

Hand-cut dragon inlays, a traditional paracord tang-wrap, and hours of finessed polishing rounded off a blade composed of several hundred thousand layers – the first true historical build the team has taken on.

Even with modern machinery, this recreation took days of collaboration, but fine craftsmanship was an ideal held close by early Chinese swordsmiths. In fact, back in the ’60s, archeologists discovered a sword deep in the underbelly of a Chinese tomb that, despite being about 2,000 years old, was still etched and sharp enough to draw blood. The so-called sword of Goujian is made of bronze, and while the ductile alloy wouldn’t hold up against steel, the piece is a testament to the skill coming out of bronze and iron-age China. It was this attention to detail that the team hoped to honor.

“For being our first build with no modern tie-ins, we’re really proud of this one,” they say.

Images: AWE me/YouTube

[Taoist Knight]

Anyone know of discovered deer horn knives? Ancient dimensions of the blades?

[GeneChing]

We ran an antique set of Deer Horn Knives (http://www.martialartsmart.com/45-45.html) in our MAR+APR 2009 (http://www.kungfumagazine.com/magazine/article.php?article=803) Featured Weapon (http://www.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?36807-Antique-Weapon-Dealers-a-promotional-opportunity) column. The dimensions were given in that feature, however as described in that article, they may not have been that old.

[Taoist Knight]

We ran an antique set of Deer Horn Knives (http://www.martialartsmart.com/45-45.html) in our MAR+APR 2009 (http://www.kungfumagazine.com/magazine/article.php?article=803) Featured Weapon (http://www.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?36807-Antique-Weapon-Dealers-a-promotional-opportunity) column. The dimensions were given in that feature, however as described in that article, they may not have been that old.

Is there a link to the article itself? If not, could I order a back issue? (very interested)

While on the topic, what do you think go these: http://www.deerhornknives.com

I am in no way affiliated with this person(s) but so far, found these knives the most interesting. If interested, I could approach them for an article and potential advertising.

[GeneChing]

The MAR+APR 2009 is still available as a back issue here (http://www.martialartsmart.com/kf-200118.html) (as of this posting). Mind you, this isn't an article. Our Featured Weapon column is a one-page spread detailing an antique weapon. Some of my antique collector friends call it the 'sword porn' page. :rolleyes:

If you're interested in Deer Horns, I did write a feature article focused on them - see Deer or Duck? The Blades of Bagua in our MAY+JUNE 2007 issue (http://www.kungfumagazine.com/magazine/article.php?article=701) (also still available as a back issue here (http://www.martialartsmart.com/kf200140.html)). We've run other related stories too, but that one is the most in depth, specific to Deer Horn Knives. And we produced an instructional video - Deer Horn Knives by Helen Liang - available here (http://www.martialartsmart.com/dvd-lh009.html).

As for that site, those look pretty cool. If you want to get ads for us, we'd love that. Here's our advertising information (http://www.kungfumagazine.com/about/adrates.php).

[Taoist Knight]

Wow. Thank you so much!

I'll buy the back issue, see if there's an interesting angle to approach the other supplier about, see if they'd be interested in an interview/add.
Thanks again!

[GeneChing]

Not a Chinese sword, but still sharp.


http://www.thelocal.dk/userdata/images/article/w468/01e7f726c539e8623defa54dd295f28a5a761873d9aae1c110 58659c4700a62a.jpg
Ernst Christiansen and Lis Therkelsen found the 3,000-year-old sword. Photo: Museum Vestsjælland

3,000-year-old sword found in Denmark is 'still sharp' (http://www.thelocal.dk/20160831/3000-year-old-sword-found-in-denmark-and-its-still-sharp)
Published: 31 Aug 2016 14:18 GMT+02:00

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A 82cm Bronze Age sword was recently discovered by amateur archaeologists near the Danish town of Svebølle, Museum Vestsjælland announced on Wednesday.

Local residents Ernst Christiansen and Lis Therkelsen had taken their metal detector along when they were out for an evening stroll in a field in western Zealand when the machine alerted them to the presence of something under the ground.

When they dug down some 30cm, they found what appeared to be the end of a sword. Recognizing the potential importance of the discovery, the two amateur archaeologists reburied the object and contacted Museum Vestsjælland the next morning.

Museum inspector Arne Hedegaard Andersen joined the pair the next day and together they uncovered what the museum called “an incredibly well-preserved sword”.

“The sword is so well-preserved that you can clearly see the fine details. And it is even sharp,” the museum wrote in a press release.

The museum believes that the sword dates to Phase IV of the Nordic Bronze Age, or somewhere between 1100 and 900 BC.

The sword will be displayed at Kalundborg Museum on September 7th before being processed and catalogued.

Denmark is currently in the midst of a remarkable period when it comes to discovering treasures from the past.

Some of the more notable recent discoveries have included the largest-ever find of Viking gold, an 1,100-year-old crucifix that may change the understanding of when Christianity came to Denmark, a hoard of 700 year-old coins, some 2,000 gold spirals used by sun-worshiping priest-kings during the Bronze Age, and a ‘lost’ rune stone that turned up in a farmer’s backyard, to name just a few.
In fact, there have been so many discoveries that the National Museum of Denmark has said it simply cannot process them in a timely manner anymore.

[boxerbilly]

Not a Chinese sword, but still sharp.

There those that believe ( I am one ) Jesus spent much of his lost years in England. The Viking ran amok in England. Hence the potential for early Christian exposure. Vikings tended to shy away from most parts of Scotland. They were scared of the Scots. Glastonbury is at the other end.

Avalon-https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kd0LDkeVVE0

[GeneChing]

...but still cool. :cool:


1,200-Year-Old Viking Sword Discovered On Norwegian Mountain (http://all-that-is-interesting.com/viking-sword-discovered-mountain)
By Gabe Paoletti on September 6, 2017
Researchers were able to determine that the sword dates back to 850-950 AD, and was likely owned by a Viking swordsman.

http://all-that-is-interesting.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/viking-sword-mountains.jpg
Einar Åmbakk

Reindeer hunters in Norway were surprised to find an amazingly well-preserved Viking sword while they were hunting in a high altitude area.
Secrets of The Ice, a Norwegian glacial archaeology organization, reports that a 1,200-year-old Viking sword was discovered by reindeer hunters in Norway. Reindeer hunter Einar Åmbakk and two friends were hunting in the high mountains of Oppland County, Norway, when they stumbled across this ancient sword.
The sword was wedged between two rocks on a plain filled with the small rocks that pepper the Norwegian countryside, known as scree. Though the blade was rusted, and any organic material that was attached to it like leather straps or bone and wood adornments had rotted away years ago, it was remarkably well preserved. The extreme cold and low pressure may have prevented further rusting or degradation from occurring.

http://all-that-is-interesting.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/sword-viking.jpg
Espen Finstad, Secrets of the Ice/Oppland County Council
The Viking sword.

He then posted a picture of this sword on social media, which spurred researchers to further investigate the sword, as well as the site of the find. Researchers were able to determine that the sword dates back to 850-950 AD, and was likely owned by a Viking swordsman.
Researchers also returned to the scree-covered mountains with the reindeer hunters, a local metal detectorist and a local archaeologist.
This team investigated the site, but were unable to find any further artifacts. However, they were able to determine that the blade had not been covered by any permafrost or had been buried under the rocks. Rather, they realized that the sword must have been simply left on the surface of the mountain thousands of years ago.
Why the Viking was traveling in this desolate countryside, and how the sword, an incredibly valuable tool and commodity at the time, came to be left there, we will never know, but researchers theorize that it may have been left there after a Viking got lost during a particularly horrible blizzard.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=1&v=xwTwY6YHfv8

Though we’ll never know exactly what happened, this sword provides us with a glimpse into the past, capturing a moment when a sword was abandoned on a barren hill over a thousand years ago.

[GeneChing]

200-year-old sword from the Seminole War found in Jupiter Farms pond (http://www.mypalmbeachpost.com/news/local/200-year-old-sword-from-the-seminole-war-found-jupiter-farms-pond/iKD9FCTN0Yzs88gkIaOQ4M/)
LOCAL By Bill DiPaolo - Palm Beach Post Staff Writer

http://www.mypalmbeachpost.com/rf/image_medium/Pub/p8/MyPalmBeachPost/2017/10/25/Images/newsEngin.20235072_BACHMANN.jpg_web.jpg
Guy Bachmann, co-founder of Loxahatchee River Preservationists, holds a sword found in Jupiter Farms that he said was used in the 1838 Seminole War battles at Riverbend Park near Jupiter (Photo/Bill DiPaolo)

Updated: 8:49 a.m. Thursday, October 26, 2017 | Posted: 4:16 p.m. Wednesday, October 25, 2017

Highlights

Battles were fought at Riverbend Park near Jupiter

Seminole War battles in Jupiter were in 1838

When a Jupiter Farms resident found a three-foot-long iron sword in a dried-up pond on her property, she had no idea she’d discovered a piece of Seminole War-era history.
The sword was likely used in the Battle of Loxahatchee almost 200 years ago, experts said.

The resident anonymously turned the sword over to the Loxahatchee River Preservationists, a local group of volunteers that stages Seminole War re-enactments and historical tours at Loxahatchee River Battlefield/Riverbend Park.

“She told us her pond dried up last February more than it had ever been. She found the sword lying in the mud,” said Guy Bachmann, co-founder and past president of the organization.

READ: Riverbend Park reopens Nov. 4 after $3 million renovation.

Preservationists sent photos of the sword to Richard Angelico, a Louisiana expert on Civil War relics. Angelico gave directions on how to clean the sword. Bachmann and John Labota, an West Palm Beach antique dealer, brought the artifact back to life.

First, the two-pound sword with its pewter pommel handle was soaked in rust remover. Lobota and Bachmann gingerly cleaned out the rust with a steel brush. Then they used acetone. Finally, the sword was given a polyurethane and tannic acid coating, said Bachmann.

Now cleaned up and restored to its luster, the sword will be on display Nov. 11 at the preservationists’ next event at Riverbend Park.

The style, handle and blade of the sword show that it likely was manufactured in the late 1700s t0 early 1800s in England, said Angelico.

“Thousands of those swords came to the United States through trade,” said Angelico.

Three faded bomb and flame insignias, each about the size of a half-dollar, are imprinted on the sword. The insignias show the sword was carried by an officer. Many of the swords used in the Seminole wars were used later by soldiers in the Civil War and handed down generation to generation, said Angelico.

“The sword (found in Jupiter Farms) is consistent with swords made in that period and there is a good possibility it was used in that period. The sword is military without question,” said Angelico.

The sword was probably discarded during one of the two Battles of the Loxahatchee, the only battles known to have been fought in Palm Beach County, said Bachmann, a Boynton Beach resident.

On January 15, 1838, U.S. Navy Lieutenant Levin M. Powell led 75 army and navy troops against 50 to 60 Seminoles. Nine days later, Major General Thomas Jesup brought 1,500 troops against 100 to 300 Seminoles.

The sword was found on the route the soldiers rode to the battle sites. Bachmann figures the sword was dropped while soldiers were making their 200-mile march from Fort Mellon — now Sanford, Florida - to the Loxahatchee River.

These battles ended the organized resistance of the Seminoles during the Second Seminole War.

“The swords were not used just for battle by officers,” said Bachmann. “They used them to direct troops. They used them as machetes to get through the thick brush. An officer likely lost this sword as he was fighting through the brush.”

Jack Islin, a member of the preservationists and a Tequesta resident, said travel was incredibly difficult for the soldiers.

“They were fighting through cypress trees. Getting cut up by the grass. There were snakes and bugs. They were losing their shoes and equipment in the mud. It must have been very difficult for the commander to maintain morale,” said Islin, a Vietnam veteran.

A red string was found intact, wrapped around the handle attached to a small piece of wood on the sword. Bachmann keeps the string and pieces of wood in a plastic bag with the sword.

“Maybe it was part of the soldier’s sash. It’s all part of the mystery,” said Bachmann.

DOCENTS NEEDED FOR HISTORIC TOURS
The Loxahatchee River Preservationists are seeking volunteers to lead tours of the Loxahatchee River battlefield sites near Jupiter. The tours, which last about an hour and are about one mile long, are conducted about once a month. The tours are every Saturday at 10 a.m. from October through May at at Loxahatchee River Battlefield Park/Riverbend Park, which is on the south side of Indiantown Road about one mile west of Florida’s Turnpike at 9060 Indiantown Road. For information, call 561-203-7018.

DOCENTS NEEDED FOR HISTORIC TOURS
The Loxahatchee River Preservationists are seeking volunteers to lead tours of the Loxahatchee River battlefield sites near Jupiter. The tours, which last about an hour and are about one mile long, are conducted about once a month. The tours are every Saturday at 10 a.m. from October through May at at Loxahatchee River Battlefield Park/Riverbend Park, which is on the south side of Indiantown Road about one mile west of Florida’s Turnpike at 9060 Indiantown Road. For information, call 561-203-7018.

Cool find. Just imagine...

[GeneChing]

Do I need to make a separate thread just for found swords?


Girl, 8, pulls a 1,500-year-old sword from a lake in Sweden (https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-45753455)
4 October 2018

https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/660/cpsprodpb/15902/production/_103722388_d0c23635-6379-4bf7-bac8-478493c2d1c7.jpgJONKOPING COUNTY MUSEUM

An eight-year-old found a pre-Viking-era sword while swimming in a lake in Sweden during the summer.

Saga Vanecek found the relic in the Vidostern lake while at her family's holiday home in Jonkoping County.

The sword was initially reported to be 1,000 years old, but experts at the local museum now believe it may date to around 1,500 years ago.

"It's not every day that you step on a sword in the lake!" Mikael Nordstrom from the museum said.

Saga Vanecek: "I noticed something that felt like a stick"

The level of the water was extremely low at the time, owing to a drought, which is probably why Saga uncovered the ancient weapon.

"I felt something in the water and lifted it up. Then there was a handle and I went to tell my dad that it looked like a sword," Saga told the Sveriges Radio broadcaster.

Saga's father Andy Vanecek told the English-language website The Local he initially thought his daughter had found an unusual stick or branch in the water.

It was only after he asked a friend to take a closer look did he discover that it was likely to be an ancient relic.

The local museum, where the sword is now being kept, said it was extremely well-preserved.

https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/624/cpsprodpb/18012/production/_103722389_06839db2-79fa-43f0-ac5a-912861b76aed.jpgJONKOPING COUNTY MUSEUM
Further excavations have revealed more ancient items lurk at the bottom of the lake

Saga's discovery led the museum and local council to carry out further excavations at the site, finding a brooch from the 3rd Century.

The Jonkoping county museum said that its investigation of the lake is unfinished and it could yet turn up more ancient items. There's also a cute vid of Saga embedded behind the link.

[GeneChing]

Her name is 'Saga'. I mean how destined is that?


Eight-year-old Swedish-American girl pulls pre-Viking era sword from lake (https://www.thelocal.se/20181004/eight-year-old-swedish-girl-pulls-1000-year-old-sword-from-lake)
Catherine Edwards
catherine.edwards@thelocal.com
@CatJREdwards
4 October 2018
11:26 CEST+02:00


https://www.thelocal.se/userdata/images/article/1903f0f784fd9c0576d28c08f6e80b8af08430d9c3d6a84f06 97dbcbda17f361.jpg
Eight-year-old Saga and her sword. Photo: Andrew Vanecek

UPDATED: An eight-year-old Swedish-American girl came across an exciting find swimming at her local lake, when she pulled an ancient sword from its depths.
"It's not every day that one steps on a sword in the lake!" Mikael Nordström from Jönköpings Läns Museum said when explaining the significance of the find.

But that's exactly what happened to Saga Vanecek, who found the relic at the Vidöstern lake in Tånnö, Småland earlier this summer.

"I was outside in the water, throwing sticks and stones and stuff to see how far they skip, and then I found some kind of stick," Saga told The Local.

"I picked it up and was going to drop it back in the water, but it had a handle, and I saw that it was a little bit pointy at the end and all rusty. I held it up in the air and I said 'Daddy, I found a sword!' When he saw that it bent and was rusty, he came running up and took it," she continued.

The water at the lake by the family's summer house was low this year due to drought, which may have been part of the reason Saga was able to reach the sword. Because of this, the family was putting a buoy out in the lake to warn other boats of an underwater slab of concrete which was dangerous in the low water levels.

"I asked Saga to bring the buoy, but she was taking her time like a kid does, playing in the water," her father, Andy Vanecek, recalled. "I was getting impatient because the World Cup game was about to start!"

https://www.thelocal.se/userdata/images/1538717694_IMG_4682_l2.jpg
Photo: Jönköpings Läns Museum

At first he thought his daughter had found a stick or a branch, but realized from the way it bent that it could be a sword -- although even then, he thought it could be a modern toy. The family asked their neighbours and one of Vanecek's colleagues, who has an interest in history and archaeology, and they said the relic was likely authentic and should be reported to authorities, which the Vaneceks did.

It was initially reported that the sword was at least 1,000 years old, but the museum later contacted The Local to clarify that they believe it may be even older, estimated to date back to the 5th or 6th century AD, pre-Viking Age. The find has prompted huge interest from archaeologists and historians.

"It's about 85 centimentres long, and there is also preserved wood and metal around it," explained Mikael Nordström from the museum. "We are very keen to see the conservation staff do their work and see more of the details of the sword."

Anyone hoping to see the sword will have to wait at least a year, Nordström told The Local, explaining: "The conservation process takes quite a long time because it's a complicated environment with wood and leather, so they have several steps to make sure it's preserved for the future."

"Why it has come to be there, we don't know," he said. "When we searched a couple of weeks ago, we found another prehistoric object; a brooch from around the same period as the sword, so that means – we don't know yet – but perhaps it's a place of sacrifice. At first we thought it could be graves situated nearby the lake, but we don't think that any more."

The sword has prompted teams including museum staff to carry out further searches in the area, though none have resulted in such an important find. The first led to the discovery of the brooch but the oldest object found in the second search, on Wednesday, was a coin from the 18th century.

"We asked Saga [not to tell anyone about the sword] because we were afraid that if this find would go public too soon, there would be a lot of people there, perhaps destroying our possibility to find things later," he added.

https://www.thelocal.se/userdata/images/1538717731_20180715_171136.jpg
The sword's handle was what first caught Saga's attention. Photo: Andrew Vanecek

Saga confirmed to The Local that the only person she told was her best friend, who she really trusts. Thursday was the first day she could reveal her story to her classmates, and her teacher threw a party to celebrate, handing out ice creams and showing Saga's TV and radio interviews to the class.

"They thought that it was very fun and interesting to know about my story," said Saga.

"I think maybe I found it harder to keep secret than she did," her father added. "It's cool that it will be in a museum and it might even say 'Saga's sword' and it might be there for thousands of years. We didn't put it on Facebook or anything until yesterday, and now it's really blowing up!"

He said that several friends had joked that the discovery made Saga the new Queen of Sweden, a conclusion also drawn by many of The Local's readers.

However, the eight-year-old's experience hasn't made her want to pursue a career in archaeology, saying she currently hopes to be a doctor, vet, or an actress in Paris, although she does enjoy learning about "old stuff".

She moved to Småland only last year, having grown up in Minneapolis in her father's home state of Minnesota, USA. The family moved back to Sweden in 2017 to be closer to the maternal side of Saga's family.

"The cool thing is that I'm a huge Minnesota Vikings fan, and this looks just like a Viking sword!" said Vanecek.

As for whether Saga will be involved in future projects or receive a reward for her discovery, the case has now been handed over to the National Archives of Sweden, who will be responsible for making the decision.

https://www.thelocal.se/userdata/images/1538729516_SmartSelectImage_2018-07-16-11-15-36.png
A pre-Viking sword and Minnesota Vikings merchandise. Photo: Andrew Vanecek

[GeneChing]

So adorable.


I pulled a 1,500-year-old sword out of a lake (https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2018/oct/19/experience-pulled-a-1500-year-old-sword-lake-saga-vanecek)
People are saying I am the queen of Sweden because of the legend of King Arthur
Saga Vanecek
Fri 19 Oct 2018 05.00 EDT Last modified on Mon 22 Oct 2018 08.21 EDT

https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/084e59c09a14979e3e6a7e71feb2c5b58031320d/0_408_6016_3608/master/6016.jpg
Saga Vanecek: ‘I had to give the sword to the local museum.’ Photograph: Hilda Grahnat for the Guardian

Every summer, my parents, my six-year-old brother and I go to stay in a cabin by a lake called Vidöstern in Tånnö in southern Sweden, not far from where we live. I like to build sandcastles on the beach, or find rocks to skim across the water and see how many times I can make them bounce. Mamma says she used to play and swim in the lake when she was little, too.

On 15 July this year, I was playing on the beach with my friend, when Daddy told me to get a buoy from the cabin: he said the water level in the lake was very shallow and we had to warn any boats that might come along because it was dangerous. He said it had been the hottest summer for 260 years.

I waded into the water and it was very soft on my skin and refreshing, a little bit cool but not too cold. It was a nice feeling because the sun was shining and I was very hot. Daddy was begging me to rush so he could watch the World Cup final, but I like to take my time about things so I ignored him.

I was crawling along the bottom of the lake on my arms and knees, looking for stones to skim, when my hand and knee felt something long and hard buried in the clay and sand. I pulled it out and saw that it was different from the sticks or rocks I usually find. One end had a point, and the other had a handle, so I pointed it up to the sky, put my other hand on my hip and called out, “Daddy, I’ve found a sword!”

I felt like a warrior, but Daddy said I looked like Pippi Longstocking. The sword felt rough and hard, and I got some sticky, icky brown rust on my hands. It started to bend and Daddy splashed up to me, and said I should let him hold it. It was my sword and now he was taking it away! I gave it to him in the end.

I ran to my mamma and my mormor – my grandma – and some other relatives who were all sitting outside having fika, which is Swedish for having a sit-down with coffee and cookies. I was yelling, “I found a sword, I found a sword!” Daddy went to show it to our neighbours, whose family has lived in the village for more than 100 years, and they said it looked like a Viking sword. Daddy didn’t get to watch the football in the end.

https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/084e59c09a14979e3e6a7e71feb2c5b58031320d/0_408_6016_3608/master/6016.jpg
The sword found by Saga Vanecek. Photograph: Jonkopings museum

When he showed it to an archaeologist, she said she had goosebumps and that it was at least 1,000 years old. Actually, they now think it’s 1,500 years old – from before the Vikings. She called it “sensational” and said nothing like this had ever been found in Scandinavia before, and that maybe I had found it because of the low water levels. She made me promise not to tell anyone because she and other archaeologists wanted to see if there was anything else buried in the lake; they didn’t want anyone else to come and take the treasures.

It wasn’t hard to keep the secret. But I did tell one of my best friends, Emmy, and now I know I can trust her because she didn’t tell anybody, except her parents – but they promised not to tell anybody else, so that’s OK.

This month, the archaeologists finally came to search the rest of the lake and they found a brooch that is as old as my sword, and a coin from the 18th century. Then they announced the news and I could finally tell everyone at school. I came back from gym class and the whiteboard said, “Saga’s sword” and there were balloons, and the whole class got to have ice-cream.

I had to give the sword to the local museum – Daddy explained that it’s part of history and important to share it with others. I felt “boo” that it’s gone away, but “yay” that other people will get to see it. I’m going to try to raise some money to make a replica sword that I can keep.

People on the internet are saying I am the queen of Sweden, because in the legend of King Arthur, he was given a sword by a lady in a lake, and that meant he would become king. I am not a lady – I’m only eight – but it’s true I found a sword in the lake. I wouldn’t mind being queen for a day, but when I grow up I want to be a vet. Or an actor in Paris.

Now, whenever I go swimming in the lake, I will be looking to see what I can find. It feels like that lake might be a little bit magic. On that day I felt a little bit magic, too.

• As told to Moya Sarner

That museum should hook Queen Saga up with a replica. The could surely pay for it once they put it on display and hold some 'Queen Saga' event where Saga is an honored guest. Heck, this story got them global attention. They should take advantage of that.

[GeneChing]

November 19 2018 16:40:00
1,000-year-old Viking sword unearthed in ancient city (http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/1-000-year-old-viking-sword-unearthed-in-ancient-city-139003)
ANTALYA

http://i.hurimg.com/i/hdn/75/0x0/5bf2bd0e67b0a807e03fd819.jpg

A Viking sword thought to be over 1,000 years old has been unearthed during excavations works in the ancient city of Patara in the southern province of Antalya’s Kaş district.

“It is very difficult to determine how this Viking sword has come to Patara. However, this unearthed sword will shed new light on the history of the ancient city of Patara,” an academic conducting the relevant studies on the sword was quoted as saying by Demirören News Agency on Nov. 19.

“Up until now, the only physical cultural remains that pointed to the existence of the Vikings on Anatolian geography was the Viking sword unearthed in 2010 at the Yumuktepe Mound,” Feyzullah Şahin told the agency, referring to the historical site in Turkey’s southern province of Mersin, dating back to the 7,000 B.C.

“This is why [we believe that] the sword found at the Liman bathhouse in Patara is a Viking sword,” she said.

There are two possibilities as to who the owner of the sword was, according to Şahin. It either belonged to a soldier who had stopped by Patara during a military campaign, or it belonged to a Viking who had already settled in the city in the ninth or 10th century.

The head of the Patara excavations, Prof Dr. Havva İşkan, told the agency she was “proud” of her student Şahin’s works, which “would shed light on Patara’s history.”

http://i.hurimg.com/i/hdn/75/297x800/5bf2bd2267b0a807e03fd81b
Vikings, sword, Archaeology, Patara

Who takes their sword to a bathhouse? Did Vikings even use bathhouses? :p

[NotGreg]

Hi Gene! Indeed it was viking culture to be armed absolutely everywhere, even in bed.

Look how similar the early European swords are to the Jian. Also the early korean peninsula and Japanese swords. Definitely all from an early source and use.

[GeneChing]

Look how similar the early European swords are to the Jian. Also the early korean peninsula and Japanese swords. Definitely all from an early source and use.

Basically all the early bronze age/iron age swords were the same. There's only so much you could do practically with those metals. Did you see our Man at Arms: Art of War Season 2: Episode 8 (http://www.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?70140-Man-at-Arms-Art-of-War-Original-Series-from-EL-REY-Network-with-Gene-Ching&p=1311673#post1311673)? We did a bronze jian. That was fun to handle. I had never worked with a sharp bronze sword before.


https://m.theepochtimes.com/assets/uploads/2018/12/17/NTD-25-1-550x330.jpg
©Museum Vestsjælland

Well-preserved 3,000-yr-old pre-Viking sword unearthed in Denmark is still sharp (https://m.theepochtimes.com/well-preserved-3000-yr-old-pre-viking-sword-unearthed-in-denmark-is-still-sharp_2741137.html?fbclid=IwAR2h_b0EPdZUl150KXoegW SpaCGFuGE-D94rgg8KIYvAnefSfFdOEy119cY)
BY MICHAEL WING
December 17, 2018 Updated: December 19, 2018

On the large island of Zealand, located in eastern Denmark, two amateur archaeologists fortuitously decided to bring their metal detector along with them on a stroll through a field one evening.

While on their walk, the metal detector’s alarm sounded, and the pair from the small town of Svebølle, Ernst Christiansen and Lis Therkelsen, made a startling discovery: They dug into the earth, about a foot underground, and uncovered what appeared to be one end of a sword.

https://m.theepochtimes.com/assets/uploads/2018/12/17/ET3-600x450.jpg
Courtesy of Museum Vestsjælland

Believing that it might be a discovery of considerable significance, they decided to get ahold of someone with more expertise before extracting the find. So, they reburied it, and the next morning they contacted the Museum Vestsjælland to report the discovery.

The museum’s inspector, Arne Hedegaard Andersen, went out with them the next day, and together they unearthed “an incredibly well-preserved sword,” dating back approximately 3,000 years—to a time that predates the Vikings by about 1,000 years.

https://m.theepochtimes.com/assets/uploads/2018/12/17/ET2-600x450.jpg
Courtesy of Museum Vestsjælland

The weapon is 82 centimeters in length, and although the leather hilt had long since rotted away, still, it was in remarkably good condition, considering its age.

“The sword is so well-preserved that you can clearly see the fine details. And it is even sharp,” stated the museum in a press release. It is also believed that the artifact had remained untouched since the Nordic Bronze Age, between 1,100 to 900 BC.

https://m.theepochtimes.com/assets/uploads/2018/12/17/ET1-600x450.jpg
Courtesy of Museum Vestsjælland

Although it is hardly unheard of for people in Scandinavia and northern Europe to uncover ancient relics such as jewelry or coins under the soil, swords such as this one are incredibly rare. This sword in particular seems to have been more of a status symbol for its owner rather than a weapon. The intricate bronze-work likely required great skill to fashion. Used more commonly in those days were clubs and axes as a means for actual fighting.

The sword is one of many that has been unearthed in the last few years, and the Danish National Museum currently has a backlog of ancient finds still waiting to be properly studied and cataloged. In the meantime, though, this sword will be displayed in Kalundborg Museum, where sightseers may enjoy its splendor, while it waits its turn.

[GeneChing]

Man, Vikings just dropped their swords everywhere.


1,200-Year-Old Viking Sword Discovered On Norwegian Mountain (https://allthatsinteresting.com/viking-sword-discovered-mountain)
By Gabe Paoletti
Published September 6, 2017
Updated December 18, 2018
Researchers were able to determine that the sword dates back to 850-950 AD, and was likely owned by a Viking swordsman.

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Einar Åmbakk

Reindeer hunters in Norway were surprised to find an amazingly well-preserved Viking sword while they were hunting in a high altitude area.

Secrets of The Ice, a Norwegian glacial archaeology organization, reports that a 1,200-year-old Viking sword was discovered by reindeer hunters in Norway. Reindeer hunter Einar Åmbakk and two friends were hunting in the high mountains of Oppland County, Norway, when they stumbled across this ancient sword.

The sword was wedged between two rocks on a plain filled with the small rocks that pepper the Norwegian countryside, known as scree. Though the blade was rusted, and any organic material that was attached to it like leather straps or bone and wood adornments had rotted away years ago, it was remarkably well preserved. The extreme cold and low pressure may have prevented further rusting or degradation from occurring.

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Espen Finstad, Secrets of the Ice/Oppland County Council
The Viking sword.

He then posted a picture of this sword on social media, which spurred researchers to further investigate the sword, as well as the site of the find. Researchers were able to determine that the sword dates back to 850-950 AD, and was likely owned by a Viking swordsman.


Researchers also returned to the scree-covered mountains with the reindeer hunters, a local metal detectorist and a local archaeologist.

This team investigated the site, but were unable to find any further artifacts. However, they were able to determine that the blade had not been covered by any permafrost or had been buried under the rocks. Rather, they realized that the sword must have been simply left on the surface of the mountain thousands of years ago.

Why the Viking was traveling in this desolate countryside, and how the sword, an incredibly valuable tool and commodity at the time, came to be left there, we will never know, but researchers theorize that it may have been left there after a Viking got lost during a particularly horrible blizzard.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xwTwY6YHfv8

Though we’ll never know exactly what happened, this sword provides us with a glimpse into the past, capturing a moment when a sword was abandoned on a barren hill over a thousand years ago.

[GeneChing]

Still sharp! Man, they really knew how to make blades back then.



Medieval Sword, Blade Still Sharp, Pulled from Sewer in Denmark (https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/medieval-sword-its-blade-still-sharp-pulled-sewer-denmark-180971469/)
Experts think its owner may have been defeated in battle and dropped the luxurious weapon in the muddy streets

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Plumber planner Jannick Vestergaard and engineer Henning Nøhr posing with their discovery. (Nordjyllands Historiske Museum)
By Brigit Katz
SMITHSONIAN.COM
FEBRUARY 11, 2019

A sword was a status symbol in the Middle Ages, toted around both on and off the battlefield and frequently interred with its owner as a precious grave good. So it came as something of a surprise when a very fine medieval sword was recently found deep within a sewer in Denmark.

As Live Science’s Laura Geggel reports, the relic was uncovered by pipe layer Jannick Vestergaard and engineer Henning Nøhr, who were conducting work on a street in Aalborg, Denmark’s fourth-largest city.

According to the Local Denmark, the sword was subsequently examined by Kenneth Nielsen, an archaeologist at the Historical Museum of Northern Jutland. In a statement by the museum, Nielsen said the sword was found in a layer of waste that had formed on top of the oldest layer of pavement running through Algade, one of the city’s central streets. “Findings from here have always pointed to the 1300s,” he explained.

But it is possible that the sword was forged some time earlier than that. Experts think it may have been in use by the 12th century, suggesting that it had a rich history by the time it was discarded on the ground in Aalborg. And though the sword wasn’t buried in a warrior’s grave, as is typical for artifacts like this, the museum says that it is “completely intact and well-preserved”—so well preserved, in fact, that the double-edged blade is “still sharp.”

Weighing in just over 2 pounds, the sword was rendered with a recess called a “blodrille,” which translates to “blood groove,” and in spite of its macabre name, simply helped make the weapon lighter. A disc-shaped knob, or pommel, crowns the sword’s hilt, and a metal bar over the blade would have protected its owner’s hand. The quality of the craftsmanship is, according to the museum, “extremely high.”

How did this luxurious weapon end up in sewer sludge? Experts can’t say for certain, but Nielsen suggests that it may have been lost during a violent battle. For much of the 13th century, according to the statement, Denmark was beset by power struggles and “civil-war-like conditions”; perhaps during one of these conflicts, the sword was dropped and pushed so deeply into the mud that it went unnoticed for centuries.

“The best explanation we can come up with is that the owner of the sword was defeated in a battle,” Nielsen elaborates, according to the Local. “In the tumult, it was then trod down into the layer of mud that formed the street back then.”

The weapon has now been cleaned and preserved, and it's set to go on view at the Aalborg Historical Museum, which is located on Algade street, not far from where the sword was first discovered. Archaeologists, for their part, will continue to keep an eye on sewage work being conducted in the area, in case additional artifacts from Aalborg’s medieval history come to light.

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About Brigit Katz
Brigit Katz is a freelance writer based in Toronto. Her work has appeared in a number of publications, including NYmag.com, Flavorwire and Tina Brown Media's Women in the World.

[GeneChing]

Huge Hoard of 100 Viking Swords Found in Estonia (https://www.thevintagenews.com/2019/10/12/viking-swords/)
Oct 12, 2019 Ian Harvey

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Viking swords

No sword is quite like Viking swords. During the period between 800-1200 AD, large numbers of Scandinavians began leaving the lands of their birth in search of a better life. The Vikings took to the seas and began raiding coastal areas in search of spoils and resources. At that time, Vikings raided, traded, and sometimes settled across the British Isles and throughout much of Europe. They also ventured to Newfoundland, Russia, Iceland, and Greenland.

ERR, the English-language service for Estonian Public Broadcasting, reported an unusual find last week. Archaeologists uncovered two caches holding the fragments of approximately 100 Viking swords. The discovery was made in the northern part of the country, in the area which held the territory of the old Estonian country of Ravala.

The fragments were in two separate caches, but the sites were located close to each other. Inside there were a multitude of items, most of which were fragments of broken swords and a few spearheads.

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Two sword hilts on exhibit in Hedeby Museum. The sword on the left is from a Viking Age burial at Busdorf, Schleswig-Flensburg; Petersen type S, with silver and copper inlay work. Photo by viciarg ᚨ CC by 2.5

Archaeologist Mauri Kiudsoo, keeper of the archaeological collection of Tallinn University, said that the two sites were only about 80 meters apart. The swords appear to date from the middle part of the 10th century and were probably used as cenotaphs, grave markers for people who were actually buried somewhere else, such as those who fell in battle and had to be buried where they were or those who died while elsewhere on missions of trade or diplomacy.

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Swords from the Viking age, found in Sæbø, Hoprekstad, Vik i Sogn, Sogn og Fjordane county, Norway. Exhibited at Bergen Museum. Photo by Arild Finne Nybø CC by 2.0

The reason the swords were in pieces, according to Kiudsoo, is that the practice of the time involved burying weapons that were broken or otherwise beyond use.

Despite the fact they’re in pieces, historians could still easily identify what sort of weapons they were by looking at the shape of the grips. The grips revealed that the swords were H-shaped, double edged swords of the type that was most common during the Viking era. Hundreds of swords of this type have already been found in various parts of Northern Europe.

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The Viking sword hilts found in Estonia. (Estonia Dept for the Protection of Antiquities / ERR)

By 1991, eight more-or-less intact examples of this type of sword had already been discovered in Estonia, and the number has risen to around 100 in the years since then. Such relics are usually discovered along the country’s northern coastline, near an important trade route for the Vikings.

Historically, Viking warriors were known to raid the area which is now Estonia, according to Ancient Origins, and they erected hill forts and outposts for trade in the vicinity. They were always located near the coast, however, as the marauding Vikings never made any significant advancement into the country’s interior, which was held by Finnic tribes.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NvVuX0bCM74

This find represents the largest of such caches ever found in Estonia, but, more importantly, according to Kiudsoo, the grips were what allowed archaeologists to determine what type of weapons they were, and, by extension, to have firm proof that the H-shaped weapons were in use in the area during that time.

By the middle of the 10th century, the Danes had been Christianized and united under one king, according to History; at the same time, a second Viking age began with increased large scale raiding on the coasts of Europe and Britain, driven by successful military action in a number of parts of Europe and taking advantage of political instability.

Estonia served as a staging post for the trade routes that went through Russia to Persia. The Vikings first came to raid, but eventually they ended up establishing trade relationships with the natives and even established some permanent trading posts.

Perhaps finding the two caches of sword fragments will stimulate further investigation and excavation in the area, leading archaeologists to new finds and a deeper understanding of both the Vikings and of what life was like in Estonia during that period of time.
Wow. What a find.

[Jimbo]

Sword pulled from rock at bottom of lake:

https://mysteriousuniverse.org/2019/10/the-real-excalibur-medieval-sword-pulled-from-rock-at-bottom-of-lake/

[GeneChing]

An Ornate Shield Found in a Celtic Warrior’s Grave Is Challenging What We Know About Ancient Combat (https://news.artnet.com/art-world/celtic-shield-warrior-grave-1725090)
The piece of armor, found on a UK housing development, is being called “the most important British Celtic art object of the millennium.”
Caroline Elbaor, December 10, 2019

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An Iron Age shield recently uncovered in the UK. Courtesy MAP Archaeological Practice.

In a story seemingly fit for Game of Thrones, an ornate Iron Age shield that was unearthed from a “warrior grave” is now being deemed “the most important British Celtic art object of the millennium,” according to Dr. Melanie Giles, of the University of Manchester’s archaeology department. The sweeping proclamation comes after two years of extensive conservation work was conducted on the bronze shield, the results of which found design features—the most prominent being its scalloped border—never before seen in any other Iron Age object.

Measuring 30 inches, the piece of armor boasts an elaborate, detailed pattern, which would have required its maker to hammer from the opposite side in order to render the asymmetrical formation of mollusk shells that culminate at the shield’s raised center. Experts categorize this swirling design as early Celtic art, estimating its date between 320–174 BC, and say it is typical of the La Tène culture that dominated Europe during the late Iron Age.

Moreover, conservators identified a sword puncture hole and signs of repair work on the artifact, suggesting that the object was functional and practical. Such discoveries have the potential to debunk opposing theories suggesting that sumptuous shields were decorative items only. “The popular belief is that elaborate metal-faced shields were purely ceremonial, reflecting status, but not used in battle,” said Paula Ware of MAP Archaeological Practice, who oversaw the excavation. “Our investigation challenges this….Signs of repairs can also be seen, suggesting the shield was not only old but likely to have been well-used.”

https://news.artnet.com/app/news-upload/2019/12/DSC_0579-1024x683.jpg
Pocklington Iron Age shield conservation during excavation. Courtesy MAP Archaeological Practice.

It indeed appears that the shield was a cherished belonging; it was initially found underneath the skeleton of a man—presumably that of the “warrior” for which the grave is nicknamed—with its prominent location next to the body suggesting great value and personal significance.

The burial site itself was originally discovered in 2017 in a housing development near the town of Pocklington in Yorkshire, United Kingdom. In addition to the so-called “object of the millennium,” archaeologists found an upright and intact chariot; a brooch of bronze and red glass; and the remains of six sacrificial pigs and two horses, which were arranged so as to appear to be caught in mid-leap. Experts believe the warrior was over 46 years of age, and that the extravagance of his grave propounds that he was a highly respected member of the community.

“The magnitude and preservation of the Pocklington chariot burial has no British parallel, providing a greater insight into the Iron Age epoch,” Ware concluded. For those seeking more details on the warrior grave, a detailed compilation of the research will be published by Oxbow Books in spring 2020.

“the most important British Celtic art object of the millennium.” Really? The Battersea Shield appears in better condition.

But still, cool find.

[GeneChing]

Archaeology Intern Unearths Spectacular, 2,000-Year-Old Roman Dagger (https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/archaeology-intern-unearths-spectacular-2000-year-old-roman-dagger-180974310/?utm_source=facebook.com&utm_medium=socialmedia&fbclid=IwAR3AhbQOz44XlGGy-GoHL_AKhEhkf0lpxDuf_B_AqhHrWS-JFC2HJay0h0I)
After a nine-month restoration, the elaborately decorated blade and its sheath gleam as if brand new

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The restored dagger and sheath, following nine months of sandblasting and grinding (LWL / Eugen Müsch)
By Katherine J. Wu
SMITHSONIANMAG.COM
MARCH 2, 2020

As far as internships go, Nico Calman arguably had an especially good one.

During his stint with the Westphalie Department for the Preservation and Care of Field Monuments in Germany last year, 19-year-old Calman unearthed a 2,000-year-old silver dagger that may have helped the Romans wage war against a Germanic tribe in the first century A.D.

Discovered still in its sheath in the grave of a soldier at the archaeological site of Haltern am See (Haltern at the Lake), the weapon was nearly unrecognizable thanks to centuries of corrosion. But nine months of meticulous sandblasting revealed a spectacularly ornamented 13-inch-long blade and sheath that once hung from a matching leather belt, reports Laura Geggel for Live Science.

“This combination of a completely preserved blade, sheath and belt, together with the important information about precisely where they were found, is without parallel,” Michael Rind, director of archaeology at the Westphalia-Lippe council, tells Oliver Moody of the Times.

Dating to the Augustan period, which lasted from 37 B.C. to 14 A.D., the blade and its accessories likely had a front row seat to some of the most humiliating defeats in early Roman history, according to the Times. At that time, Haltern, which sat on the fringes of the vast Roman empire, housed a military base for soldiers—up to 20,000 of whom were slaughtered when Germanic tribes swept through the region in 9 A.D.

Many of these men were interred in a nearby cemetery where the Westphalie team has been slowly amassing artifacts. The dagger in question, embedded in an earthen block, appeared while Calman was digging through a trench.

Though the dagger was swathed in a thick layer of rust, archaeologist Bettina Tremmel quickly recognized its value and contacted restorers to excavate and refurbish the blade. The treatment returned the weapon to startlingly pristine condition, showcasing a gleaming handle and scabbard inlaid with silver and glass atop a grooved, tapered iron blade. Also remarkable was the wood-lined sheath, accessorized with red enamel, that still clung to four rings that once attached it to the long-gone soldier’s belt.

The dagger’s exquisite appearance was a clear indication of status. But the petite blade, useful only at very close range, probably didn’t get much action in the battlefield, instead being kept primarily as a backup weapon deployed only when swords were lost or damaged.

Still, says Tremmel to Live Science, its discovery was “emotional” for the team.

“We were lost for words,” she adds. “… Though thousands of Roman soldiers were stationed in Haltern over almost 15 years or more, there are only a few finds of weapons, especially complete and intact ones.”

Even if the team keeps digging, the dagger may remain a one-of-a-kind find.

“It was not the normal practice for Roman soldiers to be buried with their military equipment,” Tremmel tells Live Science; the researchers remain unsure why the weapon followed its owner to the grave.

Now liberated from its tomb, the dagger will go on display in Haltern’s Roman history museum beginning in 2022.
Wow. What a restoration job.

[GeneChing]

SMARTNEWS Keeping you current
Graduate Student Discovers One of World’s Oldest Swords in Mislabeled Monastery Display (https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/graduate-student-discovers-one-worlds-oldest-swords-mislabeled-monastery-display-180974420/?fbclid=IwAR34LsRPsyL24UWcS2qdMmZV1D1vWYzVBY6cz9PX sJaQTZbU4DPCGYE_HI8#.Xm_53uYrj5s.twitter)
At 5,000 years old, the weapon predates the era when humans first started using tin to make bronze

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Serafino Jamourlian of the monastery of San Lazzaro degli Armeni and Vittoria Dall'Armellina with a newly rediscovered 5,000-year-old sword (Andrea Avezzù)

By Katherine J. Wu
SMITHSONIANMAG.COM
MARCH 16, 2020

Just weeks after a team of German researchers announced that an archaeology intern had unearthed a spectacular, 2,000-year-old Roman dagger in North Rhine-Westphalia, headlines are touting another student-led discovery centered on one of the oldest swords ever found.

Italian archaeologist Vittoria Dall’Armellina stumbled upon the blade in a monastery-turned-museum during her tenure as a graduate student at Venice’s Ca’ Foscari University in 2017. Billed in its display as medieval—perhaps several hundred years old at most—the sword struck Dall’Armellina, an expert in Bronze Age artifacts, as something far more ancient.

“I was pretty sure of the antiquity of the sword,” Dall’Armellina tells Live Science’s Tom Metcalfe in an email.

Housed at a monastery on the Venetian island of San Lazzaro degli Armeni, the blade boasted a distinctive shape that reminded the young archaeologist of some of the oldest swords known to humankind, which date back to around 3,000 B.C. and were recovered from sites in western Asia. To confirm her suspicions, Dall’Armellina and her colleagues spent the next two years tracing the artifact’s origins back in time through a series of monastic archives.

After much digging, the team realized that the sword was discovered at Kavak, a settlement near the ancient Greek colony of Trebizond in what’s now eastern Turkey, some 150 years ago. Shortly after, it fell into the hands of Armenian art collector Yervant Khorasandjian, who then gifted it to a monk named Ghevont Alishan. Upon Alishan’s death in 1901, the monastery acquired his belongings—including the sword, which they mistook for a recent construction.

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This 5,000-year-old weapon, made of an alloy of arsenic and copper, may be among the world's oldest swords. (Ca 'Foscari University of Venice)

A chemical analysis of the sword solidified its ancient roots. Fashioned from a combination of copper and arsenic—one of the earliest forms of bronze—the weapon almost certainly predates the late third millennium B.C., when humans first transitioned to blending bronze using tin. The blade’s sculpting resembles that of a pair of twin swords found at Arslantepe, another archaeological site that’s been dated to about the third or fourth millennium B.C., according to a statement.

Believed to be among the first swords ever constructed, the Arslantepe duo now has company—though a few lingering questions about the San Lazzaro degli Armeni blade remain. After millennia of degradation, the weapon no longer carries traces of use, if any ever existed at all. Though swords were certainly invented for their utility on the battlefield, they also served as commemorative symbols, following warriors into the grave.

“Local chiefs were buried with a lot of weapons and other precious objects,” Ca’ Foscari University archaeologist Elena Rova tells Live Science. “They probably wanted to emphasize their status as warriors.”

Separated from its human partner, the sword still has much of its story to tell. But Dall’Armellina’s discovery, at least, adds a few thousand years to a history formerly forgotten.

Wow, what an incredible bit of research.

[GeneChing]

October 18, 2021
10:21 AM PDT
Last Updated a day ago
Middle East
Sharp-eyed diver recovers crusader sword from Med seabed (https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/sharp-eyed-diver-recovers-crusader-sword-med-seabed-2021-10-18/)
Reuters

1 minute read
CAESAREA, Israel, Oct 18 (Reuters) - A sword believed to have belonged to a crusader who sailed to the Holy Land almost a millennium ago has been recovered from the Mediterranean seabed thanks to an eagle-eyed amateur diver, the Israel Antiquities Authority said on Monday.

Though encrusted with marine organisms, the metre-long blade, hilt and handle were distinctive enough to notice after undercurrents apparently shifted sands that had concealed it.

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Yaakov Sharvit of the IAA holds a sword believed to have belonged to a Crusader who sailed to the Holy Land almost a millennium ago after it was recovered from the Mediterranean seabed by an amateur diver, the Israel Antiquities Authority said, Caesarea, Israel October 18, 2021. REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun

The location, a natural cove near the port city of Haifa, suggested it had served as a shelter for seafarers, said Kobi Sharvit, director of the authority's marine archaeology unit.

"These conditions have attracted merchant ships down the ages, leaving behind rich archaeological finds," he said.

The sword, believed to be around 900 years old, will be put on display after it has been cleaned and restored.

Writing by Dan Williams, editing by Ed Osmond
That looks like it'll be tough to clean...

[GeneChing]

2.3-meter sword found in 4th-century tomb in Japan (https://arkeonews.net/2-3-meter-sword-found-in-4th-century-tomb-in-japan/)

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The largest bronze mirror and the largest “dako” iron sword in Japan were discovered at the Tomio Maruyama burial mound in Nara.

Experts say the twin discoveries from the Tomio Maruyama Tumulus last November can be classified as national treasures, with the shield-shaped mirror being the first of its kind.

The Nara Municipal Buried Cultural Properties Research Center, which excavates and researches Tomiomaruyama kofun, and the Nara Prefectural Archaeological Institute of Kashihara, which assists in the excavation, announced the discoveries on Jan. 25.

The 2.3-meter sword with a meandering blade is also the largest iron sword made in that period in East Asia.

The patterned surface of the mirror carries the designs of two more common “daryu” mirrors, distinctive with its designs based on imaginative creatures, which have been found mainly in western Japan.

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A team from Nara Prefecture examine the dakō iron sword found in the Tomio Maruyama burial mound. Photo: NARA CITY BOARD OF EDUCATION / KYODO
The shield-shaped mirror is 64 cm in length, 31 cm in width at most, and weighs 5.7 kilograms. Typically, bronze mirrors that are found at archaeological sites are rounded, but this one is shield-shaped.

The sword is the oldest of the dako swords, distinguished by their wavy, snake-like shapes, which give rise to their name. As burial goods, more than 80 other dako swords have been discovered throughout Japan.

The latest sword has markings of a sheath and handle, and together, its length measures 2.6 meters, more than dominating the last longest dako sword discovered at around 85 cm.

“(These discoveries) indicate that the technology of the Kofun period (300-710 AD) are beyond what had been imagined, and they are masterpieces in metalwork from that period,” said Kosaku Okabayashi, the deputy director for Nara Prefecture’s Archaeological Institute of Kashihara.

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A shield-shaped mirror discovered at the Tomio Maruyama burial mound in Nara | NARA CITY BOARD OF EDUCATION / KYODO
Mirror and shields are considered to be tools to protect the dead from evil spirits. The sword is thought to have been enlarged to increase its power, and the possibility of its use as a battle tool is low, researchers said.

The 109-m-diameter Tomio Maruyama burial mound, the largest in Japan and dating to the late 4th century, is believed to have belonged to a significant person who supported the Yamato rulers at the time.

The burial chamber where the discoveries were made is thought to have belonged to someone close to that person, according to Naohiro Toyoshima, an archaeology professor at Nara University. He also said that the ritualistic sword and the shield-shaped mirror may indicate that the individual was involved in military and ritualistic matters.

Cover Photo: Photo taken on Dec. 5, 2022, shows a sword discovered at the Tomio Maruyama burial mound in Nara, western Japan. (Photo courtesy of Nara city board of education)(Kyodo) That's 7 1/2 feet of sword...

[YinOrYan]

That's 7 1/2 feet of sword...

I don't think "possibility of its use as a battle tool is low". If one is tall and strong enough a sword that weight can be handled. You just have to modify your sword forms to deal with the momentum. I almost bought a replica one at Anime Expo a few years ago, because I sometimes practice with weight bars in large sizes...

[GeneChing]

Giant swords exist in many cultures. They are more of a showpiece, a demonstration of the sword makers prowess and the wealth (power) of those that can afford to spend the money on such exaggerated pieces. It's a collectors' thing, largely symbolic.

[GeneChing]

Italy's Sword In The Stone Isn't A Fake, According To Chemical Analysis
According to an analysis of the artifact, it is probably the real deal.

JAMES FELTON
Senior Staff Writer

May 3, 2023
https://assets.iflscience.com/assets/articleNo/68718/aImg/67621/sword-in-the-stone-l.webp
Analysis confirmed it is from the right time period. Image credit: Fabio Gismondi/Flickr (CC BY-NC-SA 2.0)
At the Montesiepi Chapel in Siena, Italy, there is a strange artifact that will be instantly familiar to fans of Arthurian legend and anybody who has watched Disney's The Sword in the Stone, being that it is a literal sword embedded inside a stone. According to a chemical analysis of the artifact, it is probably from the right time period rather than a recent fake.

The legend around the sword says that it was the weapon of Galgano Guidotti, a ruthless knight born in 1148 who went on to become a Catholic saint. According to the story – which largely comes from the canonization process which took place shortly after his death – Galgano's father died early in Galgano's childhood.

A rebellious child, Galgano fell in with a bad crowd. In today's terms, that might mean people doing drugs, but at the time this meant participating "very eagerly in internal wars led by local lords of Gherardesca, Pannocchieschi and others, shedding blood of his neighbors".

Galgano continued in this way for years, relishing the violence, before one day falling off his horse and having a religious revelation, converting shortly afterward to Christianity. According to legend, he abandoned his fiance and began a hermit's life, all the while being served visions nagging at him to build a hermitage of his own.

Galgano was said to have thrust his old sword into the stone, a symbol of how he was abandoning his violent life. Rather than acting like a rock, it "yielded like butter" according to versions of the legend, leaving the hilt protruding from the top and the tip poking out the other end of the rock. Since then, the sword has remained in the stone, now housed inside the Rotunda in Siena, Tuscany.

As nonsensical as that sounds, there is a bit of a curveball coming up – in the form of scientific analysis. In 2001, chemist Luigi Garlaschelli examined the artifact and found a number of surprising details, while dispelling the myth that the sword was a recent fake.

"The style of the sword is consistent with that of other similar weapons from the same time," Garlaschelli wrote at the time, "we can even label it as an Xa-type sword, typical of the late twelfth century".

Garlaschelli retrieved samples of the sword from within the rock via a hole drilled into it and submitted them for analysis.

"Although iron artifacts cannot be unequivocally dated," he wrote, "the composition of the metal did not reveal that modern alloys had been used, and so it is fully compatible with a medieval origin".

Further analysis added weight to the sword being an authentic artifact from the time of Galgano's life.

"We compared the 'fingerprints' of trace elements within the sword’s metal with that of pieces of iron slag that can still be found around the great abbey of St. Galgano. This slag is the waste from the small foundries used by the monks to manufacture their small iron objects, using local iron ore," Garlaschelli explained.

Weirder still, a pair of mummified arms held near the sword – said to be those of thieves who had tried to take the stone, before being struck down by god ~ were also carbon-dated back to the 12th century. Meanwhile, it was also determined that the hilt protruding out of the rock and the sword blade underneath are one piece.

As annoying as it is, it remains a mystery precisely how the sword got in there, beyond vague legends that the stone somehow turned into butter. the sword in the butter...:p

[GeneChing]

WELL-PRESERVED 3,000-YEAR-OLD SWORD FOUND IN GERMANY (https://www.heritagedaily.com/2023/06/well-preserved-3000-year-old-sword-found-in-germany/147628?amp=1)
June 15, 2023

https://www.heritagedaily.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/sword1.jpg
Image Credit : Dr. Woidich
Archaeologists from the Bavarian State Office for the Preservation of Monuments have announced the discovery of a well-preserved Bronze Age sword in the town of Nördlingen, Bavaria, Germany.
Most Bronze Age remains around Nördlingen belong to the Urnfield Culture (often divided into several local cultures within a broader Urnfield tradition) which emerged around 1300 BC. The Urnfield Culture grew from the preceding Tumulus Culture and developed advanced metal working skills in Bronze weaponry and armour.

The sword was found among a deposit of grave goods and weaponry, alongside the remains of a man, woman and child. The discovery is extremely rare for this part of Germany, as most burial mounds have long been looted during antiquity or opened during the 19th century.

The sword is similar to the Bronze D type Rixheim swords, in that it uses a solid hilt made by overlay casting of the handle over the blade, although the sword type has been described as “octagonal”.

https://www.heritagedaily.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/sword2.jpg
Image Credit : Dr. Woidich
The hilt is ornately decorated, while the blade shows no indication of impact marks. This suggests that the sword had a ceremonial function or was a symbol of high status. However, according to the researchers, it would still have served as an effective weapon as the centre of gravity on the front part of the blade indicates that it would be used predominantly for slashing.

Mathias Pfeil, head of the Bavarian State Office for the Preservation of Monuments, said: “The sword and the burial still have to be examined so that our archaeologists can classify this find more precisely. But it can already be said: the condition is exceptional! A find like this is very rare!”

Whether the sword was locally crafted or was imported is currently being investigated. There are three main distribution centres during the bronze age for octagonal swords of this type, one in Southern Germany and the others in Northern Germany and Denmark.

A comparison of the casting techniques and the decoration shows that some of the octagonal swords in the North are apparently replicas of South German forms, while other pieces could be genuine imports or the product of “wandering craftsmen”.

Bavarian State Office for the Preservation of Monuments

Header Image Credit : Dr. Woidich What a spectacular find.

[GeneChing]

1,600-year-old demon-slaying mega sword unearthed in Japan (https://mysteriesrunsolved.com/2023/04/seven-foot-long-japanese-sword.html)
Archaeologists in Japan have discovered a 'Dako' sword from the 4th century that dwarfs any other sword ever discovered in Japan.
LEO DE⬝ APR 9, 2023⟳APR 17, 2023
The discovery of ancient artifacts is always an exciting event for archaeologists and history enthusiasts. In November 2022, a remarkable discovery was made in the city of Nara, Japan. A massive seven-foot-long iron sword was found in a burial mound along with other archaeological treasures that date back hundreds of years. The city of Nara’s education board and Nara prefecture’s archaeological institute announced the discoveries on January 25.

https://mysteriesrunsolved.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/Dako-sword-Japan-.jpg
Tomio Maruyama Kofun is Japan’s largest circular burial mound (109m in diameter) built in the latter half of the 4th century. Tomio Maruyama Burial Mound 6th Survey Excavation Area. © Wikimedia Commons
The sword, known as a dakō sword and is estimated to be over 1,600 years old, and is considered to be a significant historical artifact from Japan’s history. Because of its wavy, snake-like appearance and the fact that it is so enormous, it is highly unlikely that it was ever used for self-defense but rather as a way of providing protection from evil after death.

The sword was buried along with a two-foot-wide, one-foot-tall shield-shaped mirror weighing 124 pounds, thought to be a daryu mirror, which was also used to ward off evil spirits. The combination of these items may indicate that the individual they were alongside was important in military and ritualistic matters, Nara University archaeology professor Naohiro Toyoshima told Japanese Kyodo News.

“These swords are prestigious objects of high society,” archaeologist and ancient Japanese sword expert Stefan Maeder told LiveScience.

These relics were found during excavations in the Tomio Maruyama burial mound, thought to have been built in the 4th century during the Kofun period, which lasted from 300 to 710 AD. The site is Japan’s largest circular burial mound, measuring 357 feet in diameter.

https://mysteriesrunsolved.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/The-dako-sword-found-at-Tomio-Maruyama.jpg
An X-ray of the large dāko sword discovered at Tomio Maruyama. © Archaeological Institute of Kashihara in Nara Prefecture
The blade is about 2.3 inches wide, but the partially remaining scabbard is about 3.5 inches wide due to the meandering shape, said the researchers in a statement from the Nara Board of Education and the city’s archaeological institute. “It is also the largest iron sword in Japan and the oldest example of a meandering sword.”

The mirror is the first of its kind to have been unearthed, but the massive sword is one of around 80 similar relics that have been discovered across Japan. The sword is, however, the largest specimen of its type, and is twice as large as the second-largest sword found in the country.

https://mysteriesrunsolved.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/Dako-sword-Tomio-Maruyama-Burial-Mound-6th-Survey-.jpg
Tomio Maruyama Kofun is Japan’s largest circular burial mound (109m in diameter) built in the latter half of the 4th century. Tomio Maruyama Burial Mound 6th Survey Excavation Area. © Wikimedia Commons
ArtNews reported that larger swords with the distinctive wavy shape of dakō swords are thought to have greater powers to protect against evil spirits, with the sword being so large that it was likely not meant for combat against people.

“These discoveries indicate that the technology of the Kofun period (300–710 AD) is beyond what had been imagined, and they are masterpieces in metalwork from that period,” Kosaku Okabayashi, the deputy director for Nara Prefecture’s Archaeological Institute of Kashihara, told Kyodo News.

These burial mounds are scattered all across Nara and the rest of Japan. They are called “kofun” after the Kofun era, which was the time period in which they were constructed. According to LiveScience, there might be as many as 160,000 of the mounds.

The discovery of the 1,600-year-old demon-slaying mega sword is an amazing archaeological find that sheds light on the ancient history of Japan.

Alongside other archaeological treasures, this discovery provides a unique glimpse into the lives and traditions of the people who lived hundreds of years ago. We look forward to learning more as further research is conducted on this remarkable find.


Samurai-Swords (https://www.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?69753-Samurai-Swords)
New-archeological-weapon-discoveries (https://www.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?68197-New-archeological-weapon-discoveries)

[GeneChing]

4 Roman swords, exceptionally preserved after 1,900 years, discovered in a Dead Sea cave (https://www.ksbw.com/article/roman-swords-found-cave/45040792)
AP logo Updated: 6:16 PM PDT Sep 7, 2023
By ILAN BEN ZION, Associated Press

JERUSALEM —
Four Roman-era swords, their wooden and leather hilts and scabbards and steel blades exquisitely preserved after 1,900 years in a desert cave, surfaced in a recent excavation by Israeli archaeologists near the Dead Sea, the Israel Antiquities Authority announced Wednesday.

The cache of exceptionally intact artifacts was found about two months ago and tells a story of empire and rebellion, of long-distance conquest and local insurrection.

Researchers, who published the preliminary findings in a newly released book, propose that the arms — four swords and the head of a javelin, known as a pilum — were stashed in the remote cavern by Jewish rebels during an uprising against the Roman Empire in the 130s.

The swords were dated based on their typology, and have not yet undergone radiocarbon dating.

The find was part of the antiquities authority's Judean Desert Survey, which aims to document and excavate caves near the Dead Sea and secure scrolls and other precious artifacts before looters have a chance to plunder them.

The cool, arid and stable climate of the desert caves has allowed exceptional preservation of organic remains, including hundreds of ancient parchment fragments known as the Dead Sea Scrolls.

Those Jewish texts, discovered last century and dated to the first centuries BCE and CE, contain the earliest known versions of the Hebrew Bible, as well an assortment of esoteric writings.

https://kubrick.htvapps.com/htv-prod-media.s3.amazonaws.com/images/ap264fa6c227b179.jpg
Ohad Zwigenberg
Israeli archaeologists show four Roman-era swords and a javelin head found during a recent excavation in a cave near the Dead Sea, in Jerusalem, Wednesday, Sep. 6, 2023. Archaeologists said the exceptionally preserved artifacts are dated to the 2nd century, when Jewish rebels launched an uprising against the Roman Empire. (AP Photo/Ohad Zwigenberg)
Archaeologists returned to this particular cave near the desert oasis of Ein Gedi to document an inscription found decades earlier.

"At the back of the cave, in one of the deepest part of it, inside a niche, I was able to retrieve that artifact — the Roman pilum head, which came out almost in mint condition," said Asaf Gayer, an archaeologist with Ariel University.

But though the swords were found on the eastern edge of the Roman Empire, they were likely crafted in a distant European province and brought to the province of Judaea by soldiers in the military, said Guy Stiebel, a Tel Aviv University archaeologist specializing in Roman military history.

He said the quality of their preservation was exceptionally rare for Roman weapons, with only a small handful of examples from elsewhere in the empire and beyond its borders.

"Each one of them can tell you an entire story," he said. Future research will focus on studying its manufacture and the origin of the materials in order to tease out the history of the objects and the people it belonged to — Roman soldiers and Jewish rebels.

"They also reflect a much grander narrative of the entire Roman Empire and the fact that from a small cave in a very remote place on the edge of the empire, we can actually shed light about those mechanisms is the greatest joy that the scientist can have," he said. There's a video if you want more details - follow the link.

[GeneChing]

Archaeologists in Norway found an arrow that was likely trapped in ice for 4,000 years (https://www.npr.org/2023/09/06/1198032134/archeologists-norway-arrow-stoneage-4000-years-old)
September 6, 20237:13 PM ET
By Dustin Jones

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An archaeologist holds an arrow originally believed to be from the Iron Age on Mount Lauvhøe in Norway. Upon closer inspection, the team determined the artifact is from the Stone Age and is likely around 4,000 years old.
Secrets of the Ice

Archaeologists in Norway discovered an arrow shaft that appears to be from the Stone Age, meaning it is approximately 4,000 years old.

The discovery was made on the side of Mount Lauvhøe, which stands at just over 6,500 feet in Norway's Lom Municipality. Archaeologists had found arrows from the Iron and Middle ages when they last surveyed the area in 2017. However, this arrow shaft was found after ice at the site melted away in recent years, according to Lars Holger Pilø, co-director Secrets of the Ice, part of Norway's Department of Cultural Heritage.

He said the discovery predates earlier finds by more than 2,000 years, which adds a lot more "time depth" to the site. Researchers can determine the age of the artifact by its shape, but will submit a sample of the wood for carbon dating once the field season is over.

The find is likely evidence of ancient hunters stalking reindeer, which made their way onto the snow and ice in summer months thousands of years ago to avoid clouds of botflies.

"Sometimes, when an arrow missed its target, it burrowed itself deep into the snow and was lost," Pilø posted. "Sad for the hunter but a bull's eye for archaeology!"

The area where the arrow shaft was found is one of 66 ice sites in Norway, which have preserved more than 4,000 archaeological finds over the years, Pilø said.

Since the arrow shaft was broken at both ends, it was difficult to date, according to a Secrets of the Ice post on X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter. Archaeologists initially thought the artifact was from the Iron Age, but after removing glacial silt, experts determined it was far older than they initially thought.

"The arrowhead is likely to have been a pressure-flaked stone projectile, meaning that the arrow is probably around 4,000 years old," the post reads.

In another post, archaeologists described how the preserving power of ice over time: "The ice is a time machine: It brings precious objects from the past to our time in an unaltered state, like sleeping beauties."
I'm amazed that this could be distinguished from a plain old stick.

[GeneChing]

A mysterious ancient grave with a sword and mirror belonged to a woman (https://www.sciencenews.org/article/ancient-grave-sword-mirror-woman-warrior)
The find may add to growing evidence that suggests women long ago could be warriors
https://i0.wp.com/www.sciencenews.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/113023_bb_warrior-woman_feat.jpg?resize=1030%2C580&ssl=1
Evidence indicates that bone fragments in a roughly 2,000-year-old grave in England, which also contained a sword and bronze mirror (shown), belonged to a woman who might have fought in or planned violent raids.
By Bruce Bower
DECEMBER 1, 2023 AT 12:00 PM

A roughly 2,000-year-old woman with a potentially violent streak has emerged from skeletal rubble found on an island off southwestern England’s coast.

A jumble of tooth and bone fragments in a Late Iron Age grave belonged to a young woman who was interred with items that include a sword, shield and bronze mirror, researchers report in the December Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports. The team used a sex-linked protein extracted from tooth enamel to classify the remains as female.

The island grave dates to roughly 100 B.C. to 50 B.C., based on radiocarbon dating of a partial bone and the types of metal objects found in the burial. Given tooth wear, the woman died between the ages of 20 and 25.

Since the burial’s accidental discovery in 1999 by a farmer plowing a field on England’s Bryher Island, researchers have wondered whether the stone-lined grave contained a man or woman. No other Western European Iron Age grave includes a sword, typically found in male burials from that region, and a mirror, often associated with female burials.

https://i0.wp.com/www.sciencenews.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/113023_bb_warrior-woman_inline.jpg?w=680&ssl=1
An Iron Age grave (shown with its capstones still mostly in place) on the British island of Bryher held the poorly preserved remains of a woman who may have been a warrior, researchers say.

Human skeletal biologist Simon Mays of Historic England, a public organization that protects and studies historical places, in Portsmouth and colleagues speculate that the woman may have fought in raids and helped to fend off enemy attacks. Violence between communities may often have occurred in Iron Age Europe (SN: 10/6/20). And growing evidence suggests that ancient women, not just men, could be warriors too (SN: 9/13/17).

One possible use of the mirror was to flash beams of reflected sunlight as a way of communicating with people on nearby islands and with seacraft, the researchers speculate. If so, and given the sword’s presence, it’s possible the Bryher woman helped to plan raids and defensive actions.

Still, the remains bear no signs of violent conflict. So it’s also possible that mourners placed the sword and mirror in the grave as tokens of allegiance to the woman’s kin group or as heirlooms, the researchers say.


CITATIONS
S. Mays et al. Sex identification of a Late Iron Age sword and mirror cist burial from Hillside Farm, Bryher, Isles of Scilly, England. Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports. Vol. 52, December 2023. doi: 10.1016/j.jasrep.2023.104099.

About Bruce Bower
Bruce Bower has written about the behavioral sciences for Science News since 1984. He writes about psychology, anthropology, archaeology and mental health issues.


"No other Western European Iron Age grave includes a sword, typically found in male burials from that region, and a mirror, often associated with female burials." fascinating.

[YinOrYan]

"No other Western European Iron Age grave includes a sword, typically found in male burials from that region, and a mirror, often associated with female burials." fascinating.

Could be a trans-warrior for the trans-media...

[GeneChing]

I've known plenty of swordswomen. :cool:

Heck, remember this? Sword-hotties (https://www.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?41007-Sword-hotties)

[GeneChing]

Worker spots something in mud — and uncovers rare Viking sword in Poland, photos show (https://www.miamiherald.com/news/nation-world/world/article284391835.html)
BY ASPEN PFLUGHOEFT JANUARY 18, 2024 11:55 AM
https://www.miamiherald.com/news/nation-world/world/inkegy/picture284391995/alternates/LANDSCAPE_1140/Włocławek%20sword%20and%20finder%201.jpg
A construction crew dredging the Vistula River in Włocławek found a 1,000-year-old Viking weapon in the mud, photos show and archaeologists said. Photo from the Provincial Office for the Protection of Monuments in Toruń

While dredging a river in Poland, a construction crew accidentally hauled up a medieval weapon. Archaeologists identified the artifact as a rare Viking sword, photos show. Sławomir Mularski and his construction crew were hauling up mud and other debris from the bottom of the Vistula River in Włocławek on Friday, Jan. 12, the Provincial Office for the Protection of Monuments in Toruń said in a Jan. 17 Facebook post. The crew was taking a load to the discard heap when Mularski spotted something in the mud, officials said. Mularski’s heart began to beat faster when he realized what the crew had found, he told Science in Poland in a Jan. 18 news release. Archaeologists identified the object as a rare Viking sword. A photo shows the weapon next to the river where it was found.

https://www.miamiherald.com/news/nation-world/world/nagu6n/picture284392005/alternates/FREE_1140/Włocławek%20sword%20by%20river.jpg
The Viking sword next to the Vistula River in Włocławek. Photo from the Provincial Office for the Protection of Monuments in Toruń

The sword is at least 1,000 years old, dating back to the ninth or 10th century, archaeologists said. Photos show the well-preserved sword. The rust-covered weapon has a long blade and a pommel that looks almost like a knot.

https://www.miamiherald.com/news/nation-world/world/grtf6u/picture284392025/alternates/FREE_1140/Włocławek%20sword%20full%202.jpg
The 1,000-year-old sword as seen in full and in X-rays. Photo from the Provincial Office for the Protection of Monuments in Toruń

Archaeologists described the sword as an extraordinary and extremely valuable find. The 1,000-year-old sword was a high-quality, technologically advanced weapon, Sambor Gawiński, the provincial conservator of monuments, said in the release. The blade was made from a combination of carbon and steel to make it strong and durable while still flexible. Only 13 of these types of swords have ever been found in Poland, archaeologists said.

https://www.miamiherald.com/news/nation-world/world/ad1zdq/picture284392030/alternates/FREE_1140/Włocławek%20sword%20handle.jpg
A close-up photo of the sword’s grip and pommel. Photo from the Provincial Office for the Protection of Monuments in Toruń

The sword will undergo analysis and conservation, a process that will take several months, Science in Poland said. Afterward, the artifact will be moved to another facility. Mularski said he hopes the sword will be returned to Włocławek. Włocławek is about 90 miles northwest of Warsaw.
Nice find.