Bronze Age Combat

Hermann, Raphael; Crellin, Rachel J.; Uckelmann, Marion; Wang, Quanyu

doi:10.30861/9781407355719

Cited by 4 publications

(3 citation statements)

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“…UM039) to identify production-related technological and use-wear traces. To identify modern and prehistoric damage, we relied on experimental archaeological works and use-wear studies focusing on sword combat (Bridgford 2000;Bell 2019;Gentile, van Gijn 2019;Hermann et al 2020).…”

Section: Metalwork Wear Analysismentioning

confidence: 99%

Late Bronze Age Swords with Leaded Hilts from Hungary

Tarbay,

Maróti

2023

CommArchHung

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Late Bronze Age swords are associated with several technological innovations, one of the lesser-known examples being the casting of lead on the hilt of bronze swords. There are many practical reasons for that, including changing the sword’s point of balance, repairing casting defects, and improving the fastening of metal hilts and hilt plates. Some theorise that the addition of lead may even have a ritual explanation. In this study, handheld XRF analyses of three Late Bronze Age (Br C–Br D) flange-hilted bronze swords from river and lake environments in Hungary, Komárom-Szőny-Oil Refinery-River Danube (Komárom-Esztergom County), Lake Balaton, and Gyomaendrőd (Békés County), were carried out. The results of the measurements were used to determine whether the thick, pale, grey residue on the handles of the swords could be identified as lead.

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Section: Metalwork Wear Analysismentioning

confidence: 99%

Late Bronze Age Swords with Leaded Hilts from Hungary

Tarbay,

Maróti

2023

CommArchHung

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“…Like clusters, micronotches are found in close proximity to other marks. However, fighting experiments suggests that they are to be interpreted as secondary marks caused by the attacking sword rebounding on the defending weapon, as the kinetic energy of the attack is not entirely dissipated by the first impact (Gentile and van Gijn 2019, 135;Hermann et al 2020). Though easy to identify due to their tiny size and their location next to a larger primary mark, micronotches rarely survive in the archaeological record due to surface corrosion or possible repair in prehistory.…”

Section: Patterning and Clustering Of Wear Marksmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Further data and reflections concerning the Bronze Age Combat Project are published (or will be published) elsewhere. In particular, Hermann et al (2019) outline project aims and structure; Crellin et al (2018) critique the experimental methodology; and Hermann et al (2020) provide an unabridged account of all weapon experiments. The spear and shield tests (and related MWA) will be discussed in Crellin et al (in preparation) and Uckelmann et al (in preparation).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Bronze Age Swordsmanship: New Insights from Experiments and Wear Analysis

Hermann

Dolfini

Crellin

et al. 2020

J Archaeol Method Theory

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The article presents a new picture of sword fighting in Middle and Late Bronze Age Europe developed through the Bronze Age Combat Project. The project investigated the uses of Bronze Age swords, shields, and spears by combining integrated experimental archaeology and metalwork wear analysis. The research is grounded in an explicit and replicable methodology providing a blueprint for future experimentation with, and wear analysis of, prehistoric copper-alloy weapons. We present a four-step experimental methodology including both controlled and actualistic experiments. The experimental results informed the wear analysis of 110 Middle and Late Bronze Age swords from Britain and Italy. The research has generated new understandings of prehistoric combat, including diagnostic and undiagnostic combat marks and how to interpret them; how to hold and use a Bronze Age sword; the degree of skill and training required for proficient combat; the realities of Bronze Age swordplay including the frequency of blade-on-blade contact; the body parts and areas targeted by prehistoric sword fencers; and the evolution of fighting styles in Britain and Italy from the late 2nd to the early 1st millennia BC. All primary data discussed in the article are available as supplementary material (Appendix) so as to allow scrutiny and validation of the research results.

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Bronze Age Combat

Cited by 4 publications

References 0 publications

Late Bronze Age Swords with Leaded Hilts from Hungary

Late Bronze Age Swords with Leaded Hilts from Hungary

Bronze Age Swordsmanship: New Insights from Experiments and Wear Analysis

Sword-fighting in Bronze Age Europe: Assessing the use of bronze swords from Bohemia and Moravia

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