New archeological weapon discoveries

[GeneChing]

WELL-PRESERVED 3,000-YEAR-OLD SWORD FOUND IN GERMANY
June 15, 2023


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”.


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
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.


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.


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.


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
New-archeological-weapon-discoveries

[GeneChing]

4 Roman swords, exceptionally preserved after 1,900 years, discovered in a Dead Sea cave
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.


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
September 6, 20237:13 PM ET
By Dustin Jones


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
The find may add to growing evidence that suggests women long ago could be warriors

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.


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.

Heck, remember this? Sword-hotties

[GeneChing]

Worker spots something in mud — and uncovers rare Viking sword in Poland, photos show
BY ASPEN PFLUGHOEFT JANUARY 18, 2024 11:55 AM

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.


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.


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.


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.