Bronze Age swords appeared around the 17th century BC, in the Black Sea and Aegean Sea regions. The design of these types was an improvement of a shorter type of weapon - . Swords replaced daggers during the Iron Age (early 1st millennium BC).

From an early time, the length of the sword could already reach more than 100 cm. The technology for making blades of this length was presumably developed in the Aegean Sea. Alloys used in production were copper and tin or arsenic. The earliest specimens over 100 cm were made around 1700 BC. e. Typical Bronze Age swords ranged from 60 to 80 cm in length, while weapons significantly shorter than 60 cm also continued to be made, but were identified differently. Sometimes like short swords, sometimes like daggers. Until about 1400 BC. the distribution of swords is mainly limited to the Aegean Sea and southeastern Europe. This type weapons became more widespread in the last centuries of the 2nd millennium BC, in regions such as Central Europe, Great Britain, the Middle East, middle Asia, Northern India and China.

Predecessors

Before the advent of bronze, stone (flint, obsidian) was used as the main material for cutting tools and weapons. However, the stone is very fragile and therefore not practical for making swords. With the advent of copper, and subsequently bronze, daggers could be forged with a longer blade, which eventually led to a separate class of weapon - the sword. Thus, the process of the appearance of the sword as a derivative weapon from the dagger was gradual. In 2004, examples of the first swords from the Early Bronze Age (c. 33rd to 31st centuries BC) were claimed, based on finds at Arslantepe by Marcella Frangipane of the University of Rome. A cache of that time was found, which contained a total of nine swords and daggers, which included an alloy of copper and arsenic. Among the finds on three swords was beautiful silver inlay.

These exhibits, with a total length of 45 to 60 cm, can be described as either short swords or long daggers. Several other similar swords have been found in Turkey and are described by Thomas Zimmerman.

Sword production was extremely rare for the next millennium. This type of weapon became more widespread only with the end of the 3rd millennium BC. e. Swords from this later period can still be readily interpreted as daggers, as is the case with a copper example from Naxos (dated to approximately 2800 - 2300 BC), measuring just under 36 cm in length, but individual examples of the Cycladic civilization "copper swords" period approximately 2300 years. reach a length of up to 60 cm. The first examples of weapons that can be classified as swords without ambiguity are blades found on Minoan Crete, dated to approximately 1700 BC, their length reaches a size of over 100 cm. These are swords of the "Aegean type" Bronze Age.

Aegean period

Minoan and Mycenaean (mid to late Aegean Bronze Age) swords are classified into types labeled A to H as follows by Sandars (British archaeologist), in Sandars's "typology" (1961). Types A and B ("shank-loop") are the earliest, from about the 17th to 16th centuries. BC e. Types C ("horned swords") and D ("cross swords") from the 15th century BC, types E and F ("T-hilt swords") from the 13th and 12th centuries BC AD The 13th to 12th centuries also saw a revival of the "horned" type of sword, which were classified as types G and H. Type H swords are associated with the Sea Peoples and were found in Asia Minor (Pergamon) and Greece. Contemporary with types E and H is the so-called Naue II type, imported from South-Eastern Europe.

Europe

Naue II

One of the most important and long-lasting types of prehistoric European swords was the Naue II type (named after Julius Naue, due to the fact that he was the first to describe them), also known as the "tongue-hilted sword." This type of sword has appeared since the 13th century BC. in Northern Italy (the finds relate to the urn field culture), and lasted until the Iron Age, with a duration of active use of approximately seven centuries, until the 6th century BC. During its existence, metallurgical technology has changed. Initially, the main material for making the sword was bronze; later, the weapon was forged from iron, but the basic design remained the same. Naue II type swords were exported from Europe to areas around the Aegean Sea, as well as to more remote regions, such as Ugarit, starting around 1200 BC, just a few decades before the end of the Bronze Age palace cultures. The length of Naue II type swords could reach 85 cm, but most specimens fall in the range of 60 - 70 cm.

Swords from the Scandinavian Bronze Age appear from the 13th century. BC, these blades often contain spiral elements. The first Scandinavian swords were also relatively short. A specimen discovered in 1912 near Brekby (Sweden), forged between approximately 1800 and 1500 BC, was just over 60 cm long. This sword was classified as a "Hajdúsámson-Apa" type, and was apparently imported . The sword "Vreta Kloster", discovered in 1897 (production date from 1600 to 1500 BC), has a blade length (absent) of 46 cm. The typical blade shape for European swords of that time is leaf. This form was most common in northwestern Europe at the end of the Bronze Age and in particular in the British Isles. The "carp tongue" sword is a type of bronze sword that was common in Western Europe during approximately the 9th to 8th centuries BC. The blade of this sword was wide, the blades running parallel for most of its length, tapering at the last third of the blade into a thin point. A similar structural element was intended primarily for piercing blows. The sword form was probably developed in northwestern France and combined a wide blade suitable for cutting with a long point for better piercing ability. Atlantic Europe also took advantage of this design. In the south-east of Great Britain, such metal products got their name: “Carp's Tongue complex”. Illustrative examples of this type are some artifacts of the Aylham hoard. The Bronze Age sword design and methods of its production disappear at the end of the Early Iron Age (Halstatt culture, period D), around 600-500 BC, when swords are again replaced by daggers in most of Europe. The exception is the dagger, which continues to develop for several centuries longer. The "antenna sword" is a type of weapon of the late Bronze Age, from the early iron swords of the East Hallstatt region and Italy.

China

The beginning of sword production in China dates back to the Shang Dynasty (Bronze Age), around 1200 BC. Bronze sword technology reached its climax during the Warring States Period and the Qin Dynasty (221 BC - 207 BC). Among the swords of the Warring States period, some unique technologies were used, such as casting with a high tin content (cutting edges were softer), lower tin content, or the use of diamond patterns on the blade (as in the case of the Gou Jian sword). Also unique to Chinese bronze is the occasional use of high tin bronze (17-21% tin), which was very hard and would break when bent too hard, while other cultures preferred low tin bronze (usually 10%) which when bent too hard bent. Iron swords were produced alongside bronze ones, and it was not until the early Han Dynasty that iron completely replaced bronze, making China the last place where bronze was used in sword blades.

India

Swords have been found in archaeological remains of the Ocher Painted Pottery culture throughout the Ganges-Jamna Doab region. As a rule, weapons were made from copper, but in some cases from bronze. Various examples were discovered at Fatehgarh, where several varieties of handles were also discovered. These swords date from different periods, between 1700-1400. BC, but were probably used more widely during 1200-600 AD. BC. (during the Gray Painted Ware culture, Iron Age in India).

Some may be surprised, but most of the written history of ancient Hellas known to us is the Iron Age, and not the Bronze Age at all. And the battle of Thermopylae, and in general this whole Greco-Persian mess is the era of the Iron Age.

The Battle of Thermopylae, by the way, took place generally not so long ago - in 480 BC. When Spartan spears in a narrow gorge ripped open the bellies of the Persians, in some places in the northwest, on the boot-shaped peninsula, the not-so-small city of Rome already existed, having just thrown off the power of the Etruscan kings and proclaimed the Republic. Its legions had not yet reached the limits of the "boot", but Rome was patient. He had nowhere to rush.

And the Bronze Age in the Mediterranean ended in... 1200 BC.

Bronze swords. And now it's still in good condition

But nevertheless, for almost half a millennium, Greek hoplites, Macedonian phalangites and other warriors of the Mediterranean region were armed with bronze swords and bronze shields. Their heads were covered with bronze helmets, and the spearheads were also bronze. Not iron. Although they had been able to smelt iron from ore and forge it for several centuries, they mostly made crafts from it for household purposes. Why?

A hoplite from the first line of the phalanx. The red cape indicates that he is a Spartan. Well, the “lambda” on the shield is Lacedaemon...)

The interesting thing is that at first a bronze sword was much stronger than an iron sword...))

Technological features

Initially, bronze was made not from an alloy of copper and tin, but from an alloy of copper and arsenic. Arsenic bronze is quite hard and durable, although it does not really hold an edge. In general, a sword made from it will be a chisel anyway.

Subsequently, instead of poisonous arsenic, they began to add tin to the alloy, thereby obtaining classic bronze. Tin bronze, unlike arsenic bronze, was suitable for alteration. Simply put, a broken sword made of arsenic bronze cannot be put back together - if the fragments are melted, the arsenic will evaporate, and what will remain is pure nonsense. And from tin - easily. Throw it in the oven, melt it, pour it into a new mold - and voila!

And the main technological feature of bronze is that swords, spearheads and elements for covering shields were made from it... They were cast. The metal was melted, poured into a ceramic mold and allowed to cool. All is ready.

Solid cut-and-thrust sword

The photo above is a technologically advanced copy of a bronze sword from around the 6th century BC, from the Mediterranean region. Its length is 74 cm and its weight is only 650 g.

Bronze, unlike iron, becomes stronger after casting; forging destroys it. But iron needs to be forged. Although the ancient people could not melt iron even if they wanted to.

Thus, the same Spartans of the era of King Leonidas could well have made an iron sword. They knew this metal itself. But they didn't want to...

The fact is that pure iron, fresh from a cheese-blowing oven, is very soft. Much softer than bronze, which by that time in Hellas had long been in the making. Different varieties - where necessary, we will add tin, where necessary - we will subtract...

In order for an iron sword to become stronger than a bronze one, it must be made using the “batch” technology - forge welding elements of iron and hard steel together. Some people in Asia Minor already knew this technology, but even the Persian “immortals” - the famous guard of Xerxes - were considered immortal not because they wore iron armor, but because the number of their detachment was always maintained at the same level - exactly 10 thousand. It’s as if they didn’t die at all))

Immortals. Persian bas-relief

So it turned out that the main advantage of iron tools in the era of King Leonidas and the Battle of Thermopylae was their cheapness. There were iron tools - made from "raw" iron - and they cost less than bronze ones, but they were not suitable for military purposes. Iron swords at this time were still too soft. It will take a lot of time before the technology of welded iron spreads, before they learn to harden this metal and process it more or less decently. And then the same Romans for another three hundred years would have iron chain mail (made of soft iron), and bronze helmets.

The main advantages of a bronze sword over an iron one in the era of the Battle of Thermopylae

1. Easier to manufacture - swords and other objects were simply cast in molds - entirely, along with the handles. Iron had to be forged.

2. Hardness and strength - tin bronze (the exact amount of tin in the composition was determined through trial and error) was much stronger than raw iron. It was more likely that a bronze sword at that time would cut through an iron one than vice versa.

3. Corrosion. Bronze oxidizes over time, but not that much. But raw iron, which always contains some admixture of carbon, quickly rusts to the point of complete destruction.

Iron ancient Greek kopis

The only significant drawback of bronze, which directly affected its cost, was the need for tin. There was little tin, and it was quite expensive. Tin was mined in the form of the mineral cassiterite, from which it was subsequently smelted. But cassiterite itself is quite rare; at that time it was not mined using the ore method, but was found in placers on river banks. They called it "tin stone".

Subsequently, the “tin stone” began to be transported from an incredible distance - from the British Isles, then called the Tin Isles.

But the spread of iron weapons and armor was directly related to the development of steelmaking technologies, which, again, directly depended on the progress of technological progress in general. Yes, iron ultimately had greater potential, but few people knew about this in the fifth century BC...)

Original article - on the channel https://zen.yandex.ru/dnevnik_rolevika

Archeology of weapons. From the Bronze Age to the Renaissance Oakeshott Ewart

Chapter 1 "Ruthless Bronze"

"Ruthless Bronze"

When at the beginning of the second millennium BC. e. Indo-Europeans set out to conquer Ancient world, they brought with them a new concept of warfare based on the use of fast horse-drawn chariots. The carts were driven by charioteers, and warriors armed with bows sat next to them. The emergence of new fighting techniques and, as a consequence, the emergence of new weapons (or at least the modernization of old ones) give new ideas to archaeologists. However, it cannot be said that they had to restore the appearance of ancient chariots based on the results of excavations; for this we should thank the Sumerians, who left behind so many red clay vessels belonging to the early dynastic period I (3500 BC). The walls of the vessels depict light two-wheeled carts with a high front, pulled by donkeys or cattle. Thanks to the discovery from the royal tombs of the city of Ur, we can clearly imagine these chariots with solid wheels (two half-discs connected together on an axle). They were probably very slow and clumsy carts, but even in this form they struck fear into the enemies of the Sumerians. First of all, speed mattered. A cart pulled by a pair, even if several warriors were sitting in it, could move faster than a walking person. The effect of surprise arose, and, taking advantage of it, the warriors defeated a large army even before the foot fighters had time to come to their senses and understand what was happening. The terrifying roar of heavy wheels, the roar of bulls and war cries were supposed to sow panic even before their approach, then throwing weapons were used - and the battle actually ended even before the troops converged at a sufficient distance for hand-to-hand combat. People accustomed to fighting on foot had neither the necessary skills nor weapons specifically adapted to withstand an unfamiliar threat, so they could do nothing against the conquerors, who owed their success almost exclusively to fighting techniques unfamiliar to others.

At the very beginning of the 2nd century. chariots, but with modifications, were also used in Asia Minor. The inhabitants of this region had light carts on wheels with spokes, drawn by a pair of horses, i.e., transport was much faster than the heavy, awkward-wheeled carts of the Indo-European tribes. Soon after, similar chariots appeared in the states of the Aegean Sea. They found themselves in Greece itself before 1500 BC. e., and in Crete - around 1450 BC. e. A century or so later, according to some accounts, Achaean youths from noble families went to the Gittite capital to train in chariot driving.

Rice. 1. Chariot from the tomb at Mycenae

During the Old and Middle Kingdoms, the Egyptians did not know chariots, but between 1750 and 1580. BC e., that is, for about a couple of centuries, their country was occupied by Asians who called themselves Hyksos. The invaders, an Indo-European people, used chariots, so soon after the energetic rulers of Thebes drove them from the Delta around 1580, Egyptian soldiers also adopted this method of warfare. The first pharaoh to attack Palestine (Amenhotep I, 1550) used well-trained chariot troops as the first strike force during his victorious campaigns. After this, for another 150 years, the rulers of Egypt, one after another, sent their troops north to Syria, until by 1400 all the lands up to the Euphrates submitted to them. Then the inevitable decline began, the Egyptians had to fight such an impressive force as the Indo-European tribes of the Hittites, who by 1270 had become a powerful nation. In a grandiose clash that occurred between two peoples in the 13th century BC. e., the outcome of the battle was decided by chariots, just as in the 13th century AD everything was decided in a duel between mounted knights.

Everyone is familiar with the appearance of Egyptian carts, images of which are often found in reliefs on the walls of temples and tombs. The Cretan and Mycenaean variants are less familiar to most people, although they can also be seen in various works of art of the Minoan-Mycenaean period (Fig. 1). Several real chariots survive in Egypt, and the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York exhibits an Etruscan chariot clad in bronze. It was found during excavations in Monteleone, Italy. However, most likely, it was not used in war, but participated in ceremonies, since in the 7th century. BC e. Civilized inhabitants of the Mediterranean used such carts for sporting or ceremonial purposes. The ancient traditions were continued by the barbarians, in particular the inhabitants of the Celtic West, who preserved them until the beginning of the British campaigns of conquest under the leadership of Agricola. There are many literary sources describing the design of Celtic chariots and confirmed by archaeological finds obtained from excavations of the graves of leaders.

Thus, for more than a thousand years, glorious charioteers around the world decided the outcome of the battle. Then, in the 4th century. BC e., army units appeared, in many ways similar to the ancient Egyptian ones, but infinitely more formidable in appearance - these were the Roman legions. A little time passed before the pendulum of history swung in the other direction and the legionnaires began to sweep away everything in their path. For the next 600 years, the Roman infantry was virtually the only military force to be reckoned with in the civilized world, but even so, entire nations of unruly barbarians lived beyond their northern and eastern borders. Ammianus Marcellinus around 400 AD. e. wrote:

“At that time, even as the Romans celebrated their victory all over the world, the frantic tribes were agitated and prepared to rush forward, expanding their dominions.”

These nations turned out to be the force that eventually forced the same pendulum into motion again; barbarians filled the empire and no longer acted with the help of chariots, as before, but with the help of heavy cavalry. Weapons designed for direct contact with the enemy again became the main weapon until English archers with yard-long arrows weakened their influence in the 14th century. It finally fell out of use after, with the improvement of gunpowder in the 15th century, a fundamentally new concept of warfare appeared.

There have been many generalizations in my reasoning so far; My excuse is that in this book it was necessary to at least mention the amazing events that preceded the Middle Ages. Another reason is that there were only two periods in history when personal weapons intended for combat (if made well) were also beautiful. One of these periods belongs to the end of the Middle Ages, since in the second half of the 15th century. Almost any weapon or element of armor made by a good craftsman was made beautifully - in form, and not in ornament. We will learn about this later; but the second period belongs to prehistoric times. During what can be relatively imprecisely called the Celtic Iron Age (or, more specifically, the La Tène culture), weapons and armor, although much less common than in the 15th century, were distinguished by the perfection of form and were also decorated with unusually impressive , masterful drawings. I regret that I have to do without illustrations and limit myself to a simple description, despite the fact that this is extremely insufficient. These things are great works of art, and talking about them in words is completely inappropriate. You just need to see them - they are akin to the best that human culture has been able to produce in the field of beauty. Weapons, which were a constant companion, an invariable accessory to everyday life and a protector, were made with love, and each item had an unconditional individuality. Among the products of the Ancient World, there are similar ones, but none are absolutely repeating - the masters put all their imagination into creating works that are certainly worth looking at.

The basis of all battle tactics, which remained unchanged for approximately three thousand years, despite the advent of war chariots or - later - longbows, cannons or muskets, was hand-to-hand combat, in which the weapons were the sword and shield. Early Bronze Age people used large round shields and excellent swords, suitable for both offense and defense. On vases created in Greece during the classical period, you can see scenes of battles using these weapons. The clans of the Scottish Highlands fought in the same way, using broadswords and small round shields.

The shield itself is the simplest and most primitive type of defensive weapon. It doesn't take much imagination to imagine a Paleolithic hunter grabbing the first thing he could get his hands on, trying to defend himself from a flint-tipped spear thrown by an angry cave neighbor. It's not far from this to a wicker frame covered in leather. The shield is one of the most effective types of equipment designed to protect against the enemy that you can come up with, while it is absolutely universal in use. Therefore, this type of weapon survived in the highlands of Scotland until the 17th century, and even today still exists in its original form in those parts of the world where people live at a sufficient distance from the delights of ballistic weapons, which are well known to modern civilization.

Western round shields, dating back to the Bronze Age, were usually flat, with a diameter of approximately two feet. In the center there was a hole with a rivet, to which a strip intended for manual grip was attached to the inside. These are things made with great skill; The most common are shields decorated with rounded concentric grooves, with small protuberances scattered between them. When they were made, wet skin was stretched over a thin layer of metal, pressed against the furrows and left to dry. The skin was compressed, made rigid and perfectly fitted the bronze base of the shield, serving as additional protection. Probably, such items of equipment were worn exclusively by leaders and noble members of the clan, but we can safely assume that at that time any warrior who had a sword and shield was noble, because war was an elite occupation that required training that began from childhood and not ended before death (usually relatively early, since few people lived to old age in those turbulent times). Serious swordsmanship is an art that cannot be acquired in a day, and it develops skills that require continuous development and improvement. Even firearms require some skill, so what about sword fighting, where everything depends on skill, composure and developed, honed reactions? If a farmer miraculously got a weapon, he could not always use it - only a well-trained warrior is capable of this.

In the Stone Age, people fought with axes and spears, but the sword was never classified as a primitive weapon; its earliest forms were as refined and elegant as its latest. In this sense, the Bronze Age is on the same level as the enlightened court of King Louis XV, despite the fact that they are separated by thirty centuries. The first metal tools were an ax and a knife, both of which, at least initially, were intended for household needs. At an early stage of technological improvement, things originally embodied in stone began to be made of metal. The knife turned into a spear after it was simply impaled on a long stick, and the first throwing weapon became an ax impaled on a shorter stick. Apparently, the prototype of the sword shape was the knives of Minoan Crete and Celtic Britain, since it appeared there at about the same time, between 1500 and 1100. BC e. Both Mediterranean and Western types of swords belonged to the category of piercing weapons, rapiers, but the fact that the ancestor of the latter was a knife is obvious. Attempts to increase the sharpness of these knives (or, if you prefer, daggers) led to a change in the shape of the blade: a narrow bronze knife equipped with a thin spike at the end was found in a mound in Helpperthorpe (Yorkshire) (Fig. 2, a). Most likely, it was originally the same shape as the blade drawn next to it. This can be argued by imagining how effective a knife of this shape would be in an attack. Apparently, a certain blacksmith came up with the idea of ​​​​making the same thing, but only bigger and better. Whether this is true or not, one thing is certain: the earliest swords found in Western Europe looked exactly the same.

Rice. 2. a - bronze knife from Helpperthorpe (Yorkshire). It is shown how it is sharpened to form a point; b - blade of a similar knife, unsharpened

It was an excellent weapon; no country then produced anything that could compare with the sword that archaeologists discovered during excavations in Ireland (Fig. 2, b). It is approximately 30 inches long and no more than ? inches in the middle of the blade; cross section with a superb, complex diamond shape. Although the distribution of such finds is not limited to the territory of the British Isles, they were born here, and most likely in Ireland, since the best of them, and, in fact, the overwhelming majority in general, were discovered not somewhere else, but there .

Rice. 3. Early period bronze sword from Pence Pits, Somerset. Blackmore Collection, Salisbury

Some of these rapiers are kept in the collections of English museums. The copy that you see in Fig. 3, found in Somerset. It is quite short and really looks like a large, beautifully shaped dagger (the curves at the top are amazingly symmetrical). Along the blade there are two evenly separated grooves, rising past the bends to a fan-shaped peg, and here the hilt is attached with the help of two rivets. A similar rapier, but slightly larger, was discovered at Shapwick Down and is now in the British Museum. An even larger one, 27 inches long, was found in the Thames near Kew. It is kept in the Branford Museum (which has an excellent collection of bronze weapons). However, none of them can be compared with the sword from Lissen. The only thing worthy of such comparison is a sword from the island of Crete, discovered in a crypt from the late Minoan II period. Its blade is the same length as that of the Lissen sword, although slightly wider, and it has almost the same cross-section (see Fig. 10, a).

Rice. 4. Experimental type of sword. Mid Bronze Age. Found in France, currently in the Blackmore Collection, Salisbury

Rice. 5. Assembling the handle of a Cretan sword

Rapiers, found in Crete and Mycenae, are heavier weapons. Their blades are heavier and, for the most part, wider, and the method of attaching the hilt is better. The hilts of Celtic rapiers were attached to flat hangers with rivets. This was their weakness, since in a side impact there was little to prevent the rivets from piercing the thin layer of bronze and jumping out. In fact, more than half of the specimens found at Penn's Pits, for example, have one or more rivets pulled out in this manner. As long as this type of weapon was used only for stabbing, everything was fine, but the instinct in battle tells a person to cut the enemy, since the natural movement is to strike a segment of a circle, the center of which is the shoulder. The direct lunge is an art that has to be learned and is quickly forgotten in the heat of battle. It is possible that it was precisely this weak link of the rapier that prompted the craftsmen to make great efforts to strengthen the place where the blade and hilt are fastened. IN Eastern Europe many found various types swords, and in all cases it is clear that the hilt was gradually improved. A thousand years later, in the early iron Eek, signs of a new system of fastening the blade to the hilt became visible. Now the tang was a narrow rod that formed part of the blade; it went straight through the handle and curved at the top. An excellent example of this experimental type, found in France, is kept in the Blackmore collection, Salisbury (Fig. 4). Here the top of the shank is thickened rather than curved; it is possible that the handle was simply strips of leather wrapped around a tang between its thick end and the blade's shoulders, although the two rivet holes on these shoulders suggest something more substantial was used. Nevertheless, by the middle of the Bronze Age, a more reliable type of handle was developed: it was similar to the Minoan-Mycenaean version and, perhaps, originated from it. Although these Mycenaean swords were intended for stabbing, they were strong enough to be used for cutting when necessary. In Fig. 5 shows that the blade and thin shank were cast in one piece, and then they were lined on all sides with bone, wood, silver or gold plates, which were fastened with rivets in such a way as to form a reliable and comfortable handle. This type of hilt became universal throughout Europe, along with the blade, which remained unsurpassed both in terms of use in hand-to-hand combat and in the beauty of its outline and proportions. It was designed to be equally effective at stabbing and slashing, so the tip of the blade was long and sharp enough to inflict a mortal wound, while at the same time its edges were sharpened to be ideal for slashing. The curve leading to the handle was created with the expectation of making it possible, if necessary, to strike back, behind the back (Fig. 6).

Rice. 6. Bronze sword from Barrow. British museum

Apparently, during the Late Bronze Age (1100-900 BC) swords of this type were used throughout Europe, and regardless of whether they were large and powerful or rather small, their shape blades, similar to an elongated leaf, remained virtually unchanged. In addition to the size and the occasional presence of ornament, the difference between them was in the shape of the shoulders, that is, the place where the blade turned into the handle. By the end of the Bronze Age, other types of swords became popular, and there are three different variants that were common over an unusually large area (Fig. 7). The origins of two of these - the long Hallstatt sword and the comparatively rare type which British archaeologists have called the "Carp's Tongue", originating in southern Britain - and the "Swede" or "Rhône Valley" sword can be traced to a specific area where the original appeared.

Rice. 7. Three swords from the late Bronze Age. Types: a - “Hallstatt”, b - “Carp Tongue”, c - “Rhone Valley”

In fact, the Hallstatt swords belong to the early Iron Age, and although the first products of this culture were cast in bronze, it will be more appropriate to move on to their consideration in the next chapter. The Carp's Tongue was a large weapon with a curious blade shape: its edges ran parallel to each other for two-thirds of its length, and then tapered sharply to the tip. A very beautiful sword of this type was found in the Thames near Kew (Branford Museum). Most of these samples are found in the form of individual fragments, among the fragments and pieces that bronze lovers keep. Very few swords have survived in their entirety. Apparently these swords all formed a separate group - some of them are found in the south-east of England, others in France and Italy, but they are never found in central Europe or Scandinavia. In Fig. 8 shows one of them, especially interesting due to the fact that it has a preserved hilt and bronze scabbard. It was found in Paris, in the Seine, and is currently on display in the Army Museum.

Rice. 8. Bronze “Carp’s Tongue” from the Seine. Army Museum, Paris

Rhone Valley swords are for the most part relatively small. Some of them are more reminiscent of long daggers, but there are also quite massive specimens. Each of them has a handle cast from bronze according to an individual sample (Fig. 9). We see approximately such handles on Attic red-glazed vessels of the classical Greek period: they are clutched in the hands of warriors. These paintings are 500 years older than the bronze swords, which are obviously based on Greek designs. It is possible that they entered Hellas through the colonial ports in Marseille or the Antibes Islands or through other ports located near the mouth of the Rhone. Sword hilts of this type appear to be direct predecessors of the "antenna" and "anthropomorphic" items of the Late Bronze Age. Here the ends of the long pommel are divided into two long, thin tips, which bend inwards in the form of a spiral, sometimes in the form of a mustache, and sometimes in the form of a tight scroll of many rings or two branches, similar to human arms raised upward. Some of the antenna sword hilts resemble the Rhone Valley type and have what appears to be a short cross-guard, while others are more similar to the bronze hilts of Northern or Central Europe. Swords of this type have been found in Scandinavia, England, France and Moravia, but most come from Provence and Northern Italy. Similar swords, also originating from Italy, can be found in the late Hallstatt period.

Bronze swords from Scandinavia should be considered as a separate group, since they differ sharply from others in their superior quality and characteristic shape. They are traced more directly to Minoan-Mycenaean prototypes than any other Bronze Age sword. At this time, the Scandinavians had the closest cultural and trade ties with the Aegeans, and in fact the earliest examples of bronze swords to appear in the north may have been imported from the south. Regardless of whether this is true or not, the hilts of Danish swords from the early part of this period have characteristics inherent to Minoan swords, and all blades (which are usually long and very thin) have, like Mycenaean ones, a rigid edge running exactly along the center line of the blade . Nothing resembling Irish rapiers has been found in the north, but fencing practice appears to have been similar, for the elegant, long, narrow blades of these early swords and the finely defined central ribs clearly indicate that they were designed for thrusting. Like the Irish rapiers, these swords gave way to other designs, the blades of which were closer to the universal leaf shape, and the hilts were not made of solid cast bronze, but, like the usual European types, consisted of bone or wooden plates, riveted to a very strong, flared shank at the end. Towards the end of this middle period we discover massive blades that hardly bear any resemblance to the leaf-shaped examples: their edges run almost parallel, and their tips, although proportionate, cannot be called sharp. The technique is still admirable, but has become much simpler: swords are no longer as skillfully decorated and carefully designed as was done in an earlier period. They are just as obviously designed for slashing as their predecessors were for fencing (inset, photo 1).

Thus, we see that everywhere the first swords were intended for stabbing; evidence of this is provided by Mycenaean, Danish and Irish examples. Then, fencing gradually gives way to chopping - a more natural way of fighting that does not require special training, and, as a result, blades appear designed for delivering both piercing and chopping blows. Then, finally, fencing practically goes out of use, and swords begin to be made solely for chopping - this can be seen in the example of bronze swords of the late period (Halstatt type from Austria or Danish swords).

Rice. 9. The hilt of the sword “Rhone Valley”. Late Bronze Age. From Switzerland, now in the British Museum

IN last years Among Scandinavian archaeologists, many disputes arose and two schools emerged with opposing opinions on the question of the purpose of Bronze Age swords: they served for fencing or chopping. Adherents of each side strongly adhere to extreme views, but, unfortunately, their studies seem to cover only Scandinavian swords, while they try to apply their theories to the entire Bronze Age, regardless of the period or region in which the weapon was created . Meanwhile, such an approach seems to me to be fundamentally incorrect: it is necessary, for the sake of objectivity, to choose one of two - either study the history of Scandinavian swords of the Bronze Age and build theories in this area, or still consider the weapons of all countries in the indicated period and base your reasoning on from complete and detailed information, on the basis of which it is already possible to draw informed conclusions.

Rice. 10. Three swords of the early Bronze Age: a - Crete; b - Ireland; c - Denmark. Three mid-Bronze Age swords: d - England; e - Italy; f - Mycenae. Three Late Bronze Age swords: g - Great Britain; h - Denmark; i - Austria (Hallstatt)

Since in archeology it is important human factor(the manner in which the original owner used things which to us are but "remnants"), and the proponents of opposing theories so resolutely shy away from exploring this point, it makes sense to dwell on this subject in more detail. Even with the most superficial study of materials on everything the Bronze Age it becomes completely clear that at first all swords were intended mainly for fencing; at a later time, they were made so that they could deliver both piercing and chopping blows, and in the last period, swords were created mainly for chopping. This happened everywhere and did not apply to any particular part of Europe. In Fig. 10 I have placed the nine main types of swords in succession, from the earliest to the latest, and, in my opinion, they themselves speak quite clearly of the intentions of their makers. Since the supporters of the "fencing" theory are more insistent in their claims to truth and, in addition, their opinions are the most limited and unsubstantiated, I will begin with them.

They base their claims on three main points, each of which we will discuss separately.

1. Bronze Age swords are said to have been designed for fencing "due to their narrow, pointed blades with thin, sharp edges, a hard median ridge or scar, and a weak connection between blade and hilt." We must think that they refer exclusively to early types of weapons, but at the same time they are trying to inspire confidence in us that this definition applies to all swords of the mentioned period. The unsubstantiation of this statement is clearly visible at one glance at the swords of the middle or late Bronze Age, which do not have narrow, pointed blades. The same objection applies to the “weak connection between the blade and the handle.” In early Danish swords, as in Irish rapiers, this connection was indeed quite fragile, since short cast bronze hilts were attached to the sword hangers only with rivets, in the Irish manner. However, in almost all swords of a later time, the tang (itself a handle, which had to be covered on all sides with plates of other materials solely for the sake of convenience) was cast along with the blade and was part of it, and thus in order to break it , it was necessary to break the blade itself. If the proponents of this theory did not try to apply a statement that was true for the beginning of the Bronze Age to the entire period, it would not raise any objections.

2. It is further stated that “none of the well-preserved Bronze Age sword blades show any nicks or other signs of use as a slashing weapon.” This is absurd. In the museums of Europe there are countless bronze swords on display, very well preserved and with serrations on the blades, which have a completely understandable origin; In addition, the blades show obvious marks of sharpening and polishing. However, there are no such marks on Scandinavian swords. Almost any weapon of the Scandinavian Bronze Age, be it a sword or an ax, shows no signs of wear, and the shields and helmets found there are thin and fragile, without the slightest dents. There is a consensus that this period for Scandinavia was something like a golden age: a peaceful, rich time, the flourishing of culture. Majestic and unworn swords and battle axes, beautiful but thin and useless shields and helmets are good proof of this; not burdened by the need to wage war, these weapons were rather part of the ceremonial attire and a symbol of the rank of its owner.

Rice. 11. Warriors on intaglio from Mycenae

3. They refer to images of battle scenes from Mycenaean intaglios and from gold and stone, and they say that “in all illustrations, warriors use long swords in order to stab the enemy, and only for this purpose.” That's right. This is true on the intaglios, but they all date from 1700–1500. BC e., that is, the beginning of the Bronze Age, when the only method of combat was fencing, and they depict warriors living in an extremely limited region where swords were used only as piercing weapons, so this information adds little to our knowledge and do not help in any way to prove the above theory. There is one more thing to consider about these illustrations: they all had to occupy a very small space, the dimensions of which were strictly limited. If you look at some of them (for example, in Fig. 11), you will immediately see that the artist could not depict a man chopping his opponent: in this case, his hand and most of the sword would not fit in the picture. It happens that works of art are considered absolute proof, and at the same time the limitations imposed by circumstances on the artist are completely ignored - in this case, those associated with the depicted object.

Those who adhere to the "cutting theory" have more serious arguments, but they, in turn, ignore the existence of early fencing swords. The paradox is that these swords are one of the most powerful arguments in favor of the correctness of their opinion. As I said earlier, nine times out of ten the rivets on the hilts of British swords would pop out of place, piercing the layer of bronze on the blade, because the swords were used for other purposes, causing chopping blows. This is direct evidence that people had a natural preference for using such blows in battle with the enemy. By the way, it doesn’t matter at all that until the middle of the 18th century there was no fighting method that would rely only on fencing, without the use of chopping blows. Although Italian and Spanish fencing schools from the beginning of the 17th century. and then they relied mainly on stabbing blows; many attacks included a slashing blow. The sword, designed for stabbing, even though it required some skill to wield it, remained a primitive weapon; if they could cut with it, it stemmed from its weakness and inadequacy, and was not the result of the sophisticated mastery of the weapon that the owner possessed. Piercing-cutting swords, which did not break in the hands from a blow, arose as a result of the skill of the warriors and did not mean regression. Additional evidence that the transition from thrusting to thrusting swords was a well-thought-out step can be obtained by analyzing the composition of the metal from which they were made. At the beginning of the Bronze Age, the alloy from which these weapons were cast included on average 9.4% tin, while in later samples this amount reaches 10.6%. This alloy can be compared with the material from which in the 19th century. gun barrels were made and it is hardly possible to find anything stronger than that: gun metal consisted of copper and 8.25–10.7% tin. Thus, the swords of the late Bronze Age were no less strong than cannons, and were quite suitable for chopping.

Before we finish discussing this issue, we should consider it from a practical point of view, moving directly to weapons. It has been suggested more than once that in order to hold a Bronze Age sword, you need to have an extremely small hand, since its handle is very short. We all know very well that if a tool is held incorrectly, it will be very difficult, almost impossible to use for work (try giving a scythe to a person who does not know how to use it, and you will see what fantastic pirouettes he will do). On the other hand, if you hold the instrument correctly, you will instinctively know what to do. With the sword everything is exactly the same, perhaps even more so than with any other weapon created by man. If you pick up a Bronze Age sword, don't expect to feel the same way as using a 17th century sword. or a modern rapier. Otherwise you won't be able to appreciate what it is intended for. It is even less accurate to conclude that your hand is too big because all four fingers do not fit in the area between the pommel and the shoulders. These convexities were supposed to serve to strengthen the grip and when correct use make it possible to hold the weapon more firmly and better control it. The squeeze is made with three fingers, the index finger moves forward and ends up under the shoulder, while the thumb firmly grips the handle on the other side. Now your sword is properly balanced, you can hold it firmly, you can control the movement and correctly feel him in his hand. With a good grip, it almost seems to invite you to hit something. It is very important to feel the weapon in your hand, understand how it works and how it is more convenient to use it. In some cases, it really seems that the sword is alive - it seems to suggest the correct movements, lunges and strikes, dictates behavior... but only if you know exactly how to hold it.

Rice. 12. Curved bronze sword from Zealand. National Museum, Copenhagen

Another thing that is often said to disparage such swords is that the main weight of the blade is on the front, concentrated too close to the tip, that it is poorly balanced, that it would be impossible to fence with them.” Of course this is absurd. Fencing has nothing to do with the style of fighting for which these swords were intended. It is possible that the closest similarity would be the saber techniques that cavalrymen used fifty years ago. No, for swords that were intended for such purposes as these (and which ones we can see on any of the countless examples of Greek pottery), the main weight had to be concentrated in the upper part of the blade for delivering both piercing and slashing blows. To cut, it had to be at the center of impact, or the "optimal impact point", which simply meant that the maximum weight was concentrated in the part of the blade that met the object to be hit. If, when stabbing, the main weight of the blade falls on the front, then when you lunge, the sword tends forward from the shoulder, which helps to achieve the target and adds speed when striking. This statement is not based on theory, but is the result of many years of experimentation with all types of swords, carried out in order to find out what they are intended for and how they best perform their task.

There is one more type of sword that needs to be mentioned here. This is an exceptionally rare type of weapon; so far only three completely preserved examples of them have been found, a broken handle and a copy made of flint. I mean single-edged swords with a curved blade; in Fig. 12 shows one of them discovered in Zealand (now in Copenhagen), and the reader can see for himself what a strange weapon it is, and yet how effective it is! The sword is cast in one piece; the blade is almost ? inches in the back, on the bend there are two bronze balls and a large thickening. They serve to weight the blade for striking. This is a clumsy, but perhaps the most lethal sword. Single-edged swords were very popular in the north throughout the Iron Age, but they appear to have become rare in the Bronze Age. The flint copy of them looks absurd, but charming: it seems that, against all odds, artisans were trying to create an analogue of modern metal products. An even better example of the absurdity expressed in stone is a copy, also made in Denmark (where perhaps the best flint tools in the world were made). This is a model of a bronze sword, made of several sections, each of them attached to a wooden axis! There simply cannot be anything funnier - this is a delightful product of its kind, but it is absolutely impossible to look at it calmly.

Please note that these swords have a small ring on the hilt. At first glance one might think that it would need to be inserted with the index finger for a more secure grip, but in reality it is on the wrong side: swords of this type would not fit in a scabbard and the ring was probably intended for a different kind of fastening. This sword is so similar to the example found in Scandinavia that it seems they could have come from the same workshop. Weapons of this type have not been found anywhere else, so one could assume that this is an original Danish type, but there is one difficulty: the decorations on the sword from Zealand strongly resemble the details of a dagger from Bohemia. However, this does not mean that they came from there: it is simply further evidence of the interconnection of cultures.

This text is an introductory fragment.

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to Favorites to Favorites from Favorites 8

I wanted to finish the topic of the Trojan War, as active users VO pointed out a number of circumstances that simply oblige me to continue this topic. Firstly, with a fairly complete presentation of factual material based on archaeological finds, the “people” wanted to know about the tactics of use and especially the effectiveness of certain types of weapons of the Mycenaean era. It is clear that a science such as historiography cannot directly answer this question, but answers only through the works of some authoritative authors. Secondly, controversy arose regarding the actual technology of bronze. It seemed to someone that the bronze rapier was as heavy as a five-liter container of water, someone argued that bronze could not be forged, in a word, and here the opinion of experts in this field was needed. Still others were interested in shields, their design, ability to resist blows from bronze weapons, and weight.

That is, it was necessary to turn to the opinion of reenactors, moreover, authoritative people, “with experience”, who could confirm something from experience and refute something. My friends who found bronze figures were not suitable in this case: they are artists, not technologists, and do not know the specifics of working with metal, and besides, they hardly work with weapons. And I needed people who had access to famous museums and their collections, who worked on their artifacts, and made remakes to order. The quality of their work (and reviews of it) had to be appropriate - that is, the opinion of “armchair historians” regarding their products had to be high.

After much searching, I managed to find three specialists in this field. Two in England and one in the USA and obtain permission from them to use their text and photographic materials. But now regulars of VO and simply its visitors have a unique opportunity to see their work, get acquainted with the technologies and their own comments on this interesting topic.

I'll start by giving the floor to Neil Burridge, a Briton who has been working with bronze weapons for 12 years. He considers it his worst insult when “experts” come to his workshop and say that they would make exactly the same sword on a CNC machine in half the time and, accordingly, for half the cost.

“But it would be a completely different sword!”

– Neil answers them, but he doesn’t always convince. Well, they are stubborn ignoramuses and ignoramuses in England too, and nothing can be done about it. Well, seriously, he shares the opinion of the English historian of the 19th century. Richard Burton, what

“The history of the sword is the history of mankind.”

And it was precisely bronze swords and daggers that created this story, becoming the basis, yes, exactly the basis of our modern civilization, based on the use of metals and machines!

Analysis of the finds shows that the most ancient “rapiers” of the 17th and 16th centuries. BC. were also the most difficult if we consider the profile of the blade. They have a lot of ribs and grooves. Later blades are much simpler. And this weapon is piercing, since the blades had a wooden handle connected to the blade with rivets. Later, the handle began to be cast together with the blade, but very often, according to tradition, the convex heads of the rivets on the guard were preserved, and the guard itself was the holder of the blade!

Swords were cast in stone or ceramic molds. Stone ones were more difficult, and in addition, the sides of the blade were slightly different from each other. Ceramic ones could be detachable, or they could be solid, that is, they work using the “lost shape” technology. The base for the mold could be made of wax - two completely identical halves cast in plaster!

The copper (and the Homeric Greeks did not distinguish between bronze, for them it was also copper!) alloy used in later swords (there was nothing in the early ones!), consisted of approximately 8-9% tin and 1-3% lead. It was added to improve the fluidity of bronze for complex castings. 12% tin in bronze is the limit - the metal will be very brittle!

As for the general direction of the evolution of the sword, it definitely moved in the direction from a piercing rapier sword to a chopping leaf-shaped sword with a hilt that is a continuation of the blade! It is important to note that metallographic analysis shows: the cutting edge of the blade of bronze swords was always forged to increase its strength! The sword itself was cast, but the cutting edges were always forged! Although it was clearly not easy to do this without damaging the numerous ribs on the blade! (Those who wrote about this in the comments - rejoice! This is exactly what happened!) Therefore, the sword was both flexible and rigid at the same time! Tests have shown that such a leaf-shaped sword with one blow is capable of cutting a five-liter plastic container of water in half with an oblique blow!

What does a sword look like when it comes out of the mold? Badly! This is how it is shown in our photo and it takes a lot of time and effort to turn it into a product pleasing to the eye!

Having removed the flash, we proceed to grinding, which is now performed using an abrasive, but in those distant times it was performed with quartz sand. But before polishing the blade, remember that at least 3 mm of its cutting edge must be well forged! It should be noted that only some swords of that time were absolutely symmetrical. Apparently, symmetry did not play a big role in the eyes of the gunsmiths of that time!

Author's note: It's amazing how our lives zigzag! In 1972, during my first year at the pedagogical institute, I became interested in Mycenaean Greece and Egypt. I bought two gorgeous albums with photographs of artifacts and decided... to make myself a bronze dagger modeled on an Egyptian one. I cut it out of a bronze sheet 3 mm thick, and then, like a convict, I filed the blade until I got a leaf-shaped profile. The handle was made from... “Egyptian mastic”, mixing cement with red nitro varnish. I processed everything, polished it and immediately noticed that you should not touch the blade with your hands! And then I saw that the Egyptians had “mastic” of blue color(they considered red to be barbaric!) and I immediately stopped liking the dagger, despite the abyss of labor. I remember I gave it to someone, so, most likely, someone still has it in Penza. Then I made a bronze mirror for my future wife, and she really liked it. But I had to clean it very often. And now, after so many years, I am again turning to this same topic and writing about it... Amazing!

It is clear that Neil tried to reproduce, if not the entire typology of Sandars swords, then at least the most impressive examples from it.

During the Bronze Age, several types of “classical” weapons appeared, which lasted throughout the subsequent millennia until very recently. These are a sword and a spear as offensive weapons and a shield, helmet and shell as elements of armor. For fast movement, two-wheeled, horse-drawn war chariots were invented, which, together with the crew - a driver and an archer - constituted a fast and deadly fighting machine.

This combination of these military innovations led to social transformations everywhere, as they changed not only the conduct of combat and war itself, but also the underlying social and economic conditions. There was a need for new abilities and new craftsmen, such as those who could make the horse harness with which the driver could maneuver the war chariot, or those who could build the chariot itself. In addition, skill in handling new species was now necessary. hand weapons- with a sword and a spear, which required long and lengthy training, which can be judged, for example, by the highly developed shoulders of skeletons from the Early Mycenaean burials of Aegina. Remains in Bronze Age burials often have wounds inflicted by a sword or spear, and the weapon itself often shows signs of combat use - damage and repeated sharpening. An organized and deadly method of warfare entered the historical arena.

Il. 1. Bronze Age warrior, reconstructed based on funerary goods and textiles found in Danish oak coffins

The new military aristocracy differed from their fellow tribesmen in their clothing and well-groomed appearance. There was a need for razors and tweezers, which helped maintain this look; in addition, the new elite sported luxurious woolen raincoats (ill. 1). It would not be a mistake to assume that warfare as a profession has been actively developing since the Middle Bronze Age. The status of a warrior was especially attractive to young men, which forced them to serve as mercenaries in very remote areas. In the cemetery in Neckarsulm in southern Germany, more than a third of male burials, even without weapons in the grave goods, are the remains of non-local, alien men. Globalization was also reflected in the widespread proliferation of new types of swords. Thus, a sword with a tongue-shaped platform for attaching the handle for the period from 1500 to 1100 BC. e. spread from Scandinavia to the Aegean Islands, which indicates an intensive exchange of knowledge in the field of military and combat practice, as well as long journeys of warriors and mercenaries (ill. 2).

War chariots

In all likelihood, war chariots appeared in the southern Russian steppes, then, in the period between 2000 and 1700 BC. e. they spread from the region of the Eastern Urals and the Sintashta culture to the Black Sea region, the islands of the Aegean Sea and further to Central and Northern Europe, where very realistic and detailed images of war carts are found in rock paintings. The kingdoms and palace cultures of the Middle East, the Hittites in Anatolia and the Mycenaeans in Greece, especially readily adopted the new product. The aristocratic style of fighting became widespread: first spears were used, and then rapiers and swords up to a meter long. They were used primarily as piercing rather than slashing weapons, this is illustrated by Mycenaean seals and inlays on blades, which depict a piercing attack on the enemy’s shield. It is clear that the sword was the weapon of the elite, the leader, who, however, was always accompanied by a large group of foot soldiers with spears and probably bows and arrows to hit distant targets. In Germany and Denmark - regions in which settlements and necropolises of the Bronze Age are well studied - it is possible to calculate how many warriors from individual households supported the few leaders with swords: the ratio is 6-12 warriors per leader. This coincides with the number of oarsmen on Scandinavian cave paintings with ships and can be considered a stable number of warriors in a group under a local leader (Fig. 3).

Fortified Settlements

At the same time, in the Danube-Carpathian region there was a widespread strengthening of large settlements located on the ground with the help of ramparts and deep ditches. This shows how organized the preparations were for local conflicts; ensured constant protection of people and property large groups warriors Many of these fortified settlements are located at crossroads near big rivers or mountain passes, from which we can conclude that they were needed to ensure the safety of the metal trade. In some places the fortifications were made of large solid stones, this is especially impressive at Moncodonier in Metri and where even the gates were separately protected by a complex stone structure, which is sometimes found in Central European fortifications. On the northern Italian Pa and a certain plain there are also defensive structures complex design, where water ditches are built around the settlements (Fig. 4).

Fortifications existed throughout the Bronze Age, and there is an explanation for this. Near some, for example, near Velem in Bohemia, those killed in battle were found, in large quantities thrown into pits. Further excavations of Bronze Age fortifications will probably yield the same results.

Il. 4. a - Terramare settlement with palisade, Poviglio, Italy (after: Bernabó Brea 1997); b - Fortress Gate, Moncodonia, Istria (by: Mihovilic i. a. o. J.)

Swords with a tongue-shaped platform for attaching the hilt

Il. 5. Swords with a tongue-shaped platform for attaching a hilt of the same type, common in the territory between Denmark and the Aegean region

The most ancient swords were practically unsuitable for combat, since the blade and hilt were connected to each other only with rivets. Soon there was an effective and powerful weapon, in which the handle and blade were cast as one piece. The handle itself, made of wood, bone or horn, which ended with a pommel, was attached to a tongue-shaped platform. Such a sword could reflect strong blows and not break when hit by a shield. The new sword, with a tongue-shaped platform for attaching the hilt, became the standard weapon of the Bronze Age warrior, and it spread over a vast area from Scandinavia to the Aegean islands, indicating intense connections between groups of mercenaries or even between entire Bronze Age societies. It continued to be used in different variations of shape and length until the very end of the Bronze Age.

In Central Europe, a blade length of 60 cm was preferred. Some blades found were slightly shorter, indicating repeated sharpening of the tip, which could often bend or break. This length of the sword indicates, rather, in favor of individual combat rather than phalanx attacks. In the Aegean region, the length of the sword, after some fluctuations, became 40 cm, like the later Roman gladius, which speaks in favor of fighting in a phalanx with limited movement (ill. 5).

Darts and spears

The most common weapons of the Bronze Age were undoubtedly javelins and spears, which only at the end of this period began to be quite distinctly different from each other. The latter, like modern bayonets, were used in close combat and were par excellence infantry weapons. Each warrior usually carried two javelins or spears, as evidenced by images on Mycenaean vases, as well as grave goods found throughout Europe.

Defensive weapons: shield, helmet and armor

A warrior's best protection from injury has always been his own skillful handling of weapons. Therefore, the Celts went into battle naked to demonstrate their military superiority and fearlessness. However, even the best warrior needed protection from all sorts of surprises, and along with the progress of weapons, defensive equipment also improved.

Outside Greece, almost no defensive equipment was found in finds dating from the Early and Middle Bronze Ages, since they were made mainly of wood or leather (shields) and bone (wild boar tusks for helmets). The best sources available to us on this topic are Mycenaean depictions of warfare. Helmets with boar tusks from the Middle Bronze Age were found in the Carpathian region. Nevertheless, in Central Europe, some elements of men's equipment were probably developed specifically for protection in battle: wrist spirals and heavy spiral rings protecting the hand and elbow were often found along with swords. There is no doubt that they were used as they show mechanical damage. Conventional wrist spirals were shaped like the forearm and tapered towards the wrist.

Only towards the end of the Bronze Age, special protective equipment made of unchained bronze appeared throughout Europe - helmets, shields, armor and leggings. Since unforged bronze did not provide the necessary protection, this equipment was considered the prestigious vestment of the military aristocracy, used exclusively for ceremonies and to demonstrate their social status. This conclusion coincides with the observation of researchers that leaders with cast-hilted swords did not take part in heavy battles. In addition, this confirms the presence of a hierarchy in the conduct of hostilities in the Late Bronze Age - the battle was predominantly carried out by warriors, and the elite directed their actions.

Nevertheless, some usefulness of defensive equipment cannot be ruled out. The armor and leg armor were probably lined on the inside with leather or other organic materials such as felt or linen, as evidenced by fastening rivets. In Greece, helmets, leg plates and wrist guards also had holes for attaching linings. It can be assumed that the situation was the same in the rest of Europe. In addition, one of the most famous helmets dating back to the Late Bronze Age, the helmet from Hajdu-Bösörmei is covered with dents from blows of a sword and ax or arrows and darts. Judging by the rivet holes on the inside, the helmet had a lining of leather or fabric, thanks to which it sat firmly and comfortably on the head.

Bronze swords: functionality and use

One of the constantly repeated arguments against the fact that both cast and tongue-shaped swords were actually used in warfare is the claim that the hilt itself is too short to be held in the hand. Having held hundreds of swords in my hand, I find this argument to be unfounded. Iron Age swords are quite heavy, at least compared to historical or modern rapiers, with most of the weight being in the blade. To control the movements of the sword, you need to clasp the handle very tightly with your palm. This is precisely what the short handle with protruding shoulders, which in this case are the functional part of the handle, is designed for. The hand covered the handle along with the hanger, making all movements more precise and controlled. Fingers in such a coverage also became more mobile, which made it possible to use a variety of military equipment. This was an ideal solution for a combination of slashing and stabbing attacks carried out with one hand. During the Late Bronze Age, the cutting technique became dominant and made handling the sword even more difficult, leading to one interesting invention (Fig. 6). Most swords with a cast hilt have a small hole in the pommel, the purpose of which has not yet been explained. However, some swords have abrasions in the area of ​​this hole, clearly caused by a strap, most likely leather. On ill. b shows the use of this cord, which makes one recall a modern police baton, since such a device for the handle of a sword corresponded to the same practical functions: it prevented the ability to release the sword from the hand, allowed the hand to relax, and the warrior to use a larger swing and greater force when striking.

Il. 6. A sword with a fused hilt, equipped with a leather strap that did not allow the weapon to be released from the hand

Proper balancing plays an essential role in sword fighting. The distribution of weight between the handle and the blade determines its use for stabbing or slashing. The long and thin blades of the Middle Bronze Age speak more about their use as a piercing weapon, and in the Late Bronze Age the blade became wide and heavy, which was necessary for a chopping weapon. The difference lies in the location of the center of gravity: for thrusting swords it is located next to the hilt, for cutting swords it is much lower, in the area of ​​the blade.

This means that the piercing sword had to make it possible to make quick defensive and offensive movements, and the slashing sword was too heavy for this, it was intended for energetic movements with a large swing. It should be emphasized, however, that the cutting and thrusting swords of the Bronze Age cannot be compared with modern types of swords, which are very highly specialized and suitable only for their originally intended use. The Bronze Age sword could be used in a variety of ways, despite the fact that one of the functions of a piercing or cutting weapon could be realized by one sword better than by another. Only the earliest examples of rapiers are purely piercing weapons, even compared to the most ancient swords with a tongue-shaped platform for attaching the hilt.

All of the above shows that swords were indeed used in battles in the Bronze Age. This is confirmed by traces of combat on the blades, which can be found on most swords. Such notches and subsequent re-sharpening are characteristic of swords throughout the Bronze Age. The area under the handle is a protection zone, so this is where particularly severe damage and sharpening marks are found. Most often, the defects are more pronounced on one side than on the other, since the warrior usually always held the weapon in his hand in the same way. The consequence of repeated sharpening was that the blades under the hilt often became narrower, they were sharpened more strongly.

Older swords, which had been used longer in combat and were more frequently damaged and repaired, sometimes had the lower crosshairs broken due to repeated sharpening and the fury of enemy blows. Therefore, the lower rivet holes were damaged and unusable. In the Late Bronze Age, this led to technical improvements in swords, in particular to the appearance of a ricasso under the hilt, which helped to hold the enemy blade so that it did not slip upward, damage the crosshairs and injure the warrior’s fingers. Sometimes the entire handle was bent due to frequent strikes and defensive techniques, indicating that heavy fighting was not uncommon. Swords with a tongue-shaped platform for attaching the handle could even break in the area of ​​the handle. The findings show that this happened very often, even if you do not count some broken swords found, in which the breakage could have happened in recent times.

In the middle part of the blade there is damage that occurs during an attack when the striking sword is stopped by the enemy's sword. Here, too, there may be concavities in the cutting edge that appear due to repeated sharpening. These concavities are especially noticeable in comparison with swords that have damage that has not been corrected by re-sharpening (ill. 7). Some swords have oblique notches on the middle edge, indicating that Bronze Age warriors also used defensive techniques that used the flat surface of the blade. The tip of the blade could also be bent or even broken off when the sword hit the shield during a stabbing blow. Sharpening with the formation of a new point is quite common in swords dating back to the Middle Bronze Age, although it is also characteristic of the Late Bronze Age, which indicates the varied use of swords - both for chopping and piercing.

Il. 7. Examples of swords with a re-sharpened and modified blade

To summarize, we can say that we have clear evidence of the great importance of sword fighting in Bronze Age Europe. Throughout this period, there were well-trained experts in the art of sword fighting. It can be stated that different types of swords also had different functions: a sword with a tongue-shaped platform for attaching the handle was the standard weapon of professional warriors, and a sword with a cast handle was more of a leader’s weapon, although it was also used in battle. In swords of this type, the blade is usually damaged to a much lesser extent than in swords with a tongue-shaped platform for attaching the handle. Regarding the Early and Middle Bronze Age, further evidence of this use of fused hilt swords is the fact that the hilt was secured only with rivets, which could hardly withstand a strong blow. In the Late Bronze Age, the end of the blade was already inserted into the hilt to make the weapon more stable and prevent the sword from breaking between the blade and the hilt. Therefore, the number of rivets was reduced to two, and very small ones. It can be assumed that at this time swords with cast hilts were more often used in real combat. The damage found on both the tongue-shaped swords and the cast-handle swords does not resemble those that could occur when using the swords in practice combat. For them, real swords were too valuable, so special wooden swords were used for training already in the Bronze Age, which, in turn, also indicates the great importance of war in the lives of Bronze Age people.

Nomadic warriors and their significance for the metal trade

During the Bronze Age, an international warrior culture emerged for the first time, testifying to the intense relationships and active mutual influence of various groups of warriors throughout Europe. This can be illustrated using maps of the distribution of different types of swords, for example, swords with a tongue-shaped platform for attaching the hilt or swords with a cast octagonal hilt from the 15th and 14th centuries before. n. e., uniting Denmark with Southern Germany and Central Europe (ill. 8). In addition, the mapping clearly demonstrates that some women were used to establish political alliances between local groups and establish peaceful relations, which were necessary for the metal trade and allowed traders and warriors to move safely between neighboring groups. Il. Figure 8 shows, among other things, that male warriors left home much more often and moved longer distances from it.

Il. 8. The spread of octagonal swords as an indication of the movements of mercenaries and traders in the 15th and 14th centuries. BC e. The circles represent individual cultural groups, and the arrows show places where the woman was buried outside her home region

Such movements were recently confirmed by the discovery of a men's cemetery in Neckarsulm, where more than fifty people were buried. By studying strontium isotopes in tooth enamel, it was possible to prove that a third of the men buried there were from other places. Most likely, these were mercenaries in the service of a foreign ruler. Traders, blacksmiths, warriors, mercenaries, migrants and diplomats traveled long distances in those days. Good examples there may be remains of ships discovered off the capes and. These ships could transport not only goods to distant possessions, but also warriors or mercenaries, who at the same time also protected the cargo.

It has been historically proven that Germanic and Celtic mercenaries served the Romans, returning after service to their homeland with Roman weapons and Roman goods, the possession of which ensured prestige in society. Therefore, the presence in the eastern part of Central Europe of the 14th and 13th centuries BC. e. Greco-Mycenaean weapons can well be interpreted as evidence of the return of mercenaries after service in Mycenaean territories. The same can be confirmed by Central European, primarily Italic, swords with a tongue-shaped platform for attaching the handle, found in the area of ​​Mycenaean palaces, as well as ceramics made in the traditions of the native places of the newcomers, for example, vessels reminiscent of Italic ones and discovered in the East Mediterranean.

Ethnographic examples support the thesis of warriors and traders moving over long distances. Warriors often formed their own group identity (warrior communities), which united them within a specific territory through clear rules of acceptable behavior. The rules could concern both the recruitment of new warriors and one’s own travels to distant lands in order to return with glory and prestigious goods. This behavior is characteristic of the Maasai and Japanese samurai, and is present as a recurring plot element in the stories of warriors and wars.

Organization of military units

In some regions of Europe, the proportion of weapons in burials and treasures is so high that it is possible to calculate how many weapons and warriors were available at a certain point in time. In Denmark from the period between 1450 and 1150 BC. e. About 2,000 swords have survived, almost all of which were found in burials. At this time, approximately 50,000 burial grounds were built, from 10 to 15% of which it was possible to explore and find funeral gifts there. Extrapolating from these data, we can conclude that in reality a total of almost 20,000 swords ended up in the necropolises. If we proceed from the lifespan of a sword (30 years), then a warrior’s family needed from three to four swords for a century, which is for three hundred years, about which we're talking about, is 12-15 swords. This, in turn, gives a figure for the simultaneous use of swords - 1300, which approximately corresponds to the number of settlements in Denmark at that time. The sword was probably the weapon of the local leader, and his troops were armed with javelins, although some may also have carried a sword.

The ratio of the number of leaders with swords and the number of peasants and warriors in the detachment can also be calculated based on the number of settlements. Individual farms varied in size, with families ranging from 10 to 15 people. Based on one farm per square kilometer and the population of half of Denmark at that time, the total area of ​​which was 44,000 square kilometers, then there should have been from 25,000 to 30,000 farms of various sizes existing at the same time. The leader assembled a detachment of supposedly 20-25 farms. Thus, the rulers of even small groups of the population could quickly assemble an army of several hundred warriors. If only the largest households delegated warriors, then for each leader with a sword there were probably only 5-10 warriors, which corresponds more closely to data calculated for some parts of Germany and the number depicted on ships in cave paintings. Thus, it can be considered proven that European societies of the Bronze Age were very well armed. Throughout the era, the number of simultaneously existing weapons amounted to tens and hundreds of thousands, even if we take Denmark, a small but rich country, as the basis for calculations. Therefore, it is logical to assume that traces of military victims should also be preserved, and this assumption turns out to be fair.

Victims of war

Recently, our knowledge of battle wounds on skeletons has deepened significantly, as well as our understanding of the number of those killed during different types conflicts.

Il. 9. Combat wound: bronze arrowhead in a vertebra. Klings, South Thuringia (after: Osgord i. a. 2000)

At the Olmo di Nogara cemetery in Northern Italy, dating back to the Middle Bronze Age, 116 male skeletons were examined, half of which were buried with swords with a tongue-shaped platform for attaching the handle, including early types with a short tongue. Approximately 16% of these people had bone and skull injuries caused by fighting, most often blows from swords or arrows. If we consider that there are many fatal wounds inflicted by a spear or arrow that do not leave marks on the bones, then 16% will turn out to be a very high proportion, indicating constant local conflicts. In this region, warriors who had a sword actively participated in battles, which corresponds to the picture of burials with weapons in the arch of Mycenaean burials B, for those buried there have numerous wounds and a very short life expectancy.

However, there were also ruthless massacres. The fortification at Vilema in Bohemia has already been mentioned. Another example is Sund in Western Norway. A mass grave from the late Middle Bronze Age was discovered here, containing more than 30 people - men, women and children - killed around 1200 BC. e. The wounds indicate fierce combat between men who apparently fought with swords and many of whom had healed wounds from previous battles. Some showed signs of malnutrition, suggesting that control of food sources may have been a factor in the war.

Il. 10. Wooden club and skull with marks from a blow from a club, discovered on a Bronze Age battlefield in a river valley (photo: Mecklenburg-Vorpommern Office for Culture and Monument Protection, Department of Archeology, Schwerin)

Finally, we must mention the great battle that also took place around 1200 BC. e. in the valley of the small river Tollensee in present-day Mecklenburg, Vorpommern. Here, on a section of the river 1-2 kilometers long, the remains of the skeletons of more than a hundred people were found, and it is likely that others will be discovered in the future (Fig. 9). Obviously, here, after a lost battle, all the dead of the entire army were thrown into the river. The remains of wooden clubs and axes (Fig. 10), as well as arrowheads, were found from weapons. It is likely that those who died were migrants looking for new lands, because at this time dramatic changes were taking place throughout Europe.

Thus, there is evidence of the existence of organized warfare, from small conflicts to confrontations of entire armies. In this sense, the Bronze Age was not much different from the subsequent Iron Age.

Conclusion

Even twenty years ago, research into Bronze Age weapons was aimed exclusively at elucidating their typological development, and their practical use was highly questioned. A new generation of researchers looked at the object of their study in a new way. Today, traces of its use on weapons have already been studied, experiments with reconstruction have been carried out, showing how well organized and dangerous the fighting was in the Bronze Age, which is confirmed by anatomical studies of wounds. It is not far from the truth to say that modern methods of warfare have their origins in the Bronze Age, since the forms of weapons and defense systems known to us from later times were developed then.