Bronze Age swords were a type of weapons prominent during theBronze Age. They were replaced byiron swords during the early part of the 1st millennium BC. Typical Bronze Age swords were between 60 and 80 cm long, significantly shorter weapons are categorized asshort swords or daggers.[citation needed] From an early time swords with lengths in excess of 100 cm were also produced. Some Bronze Age swords have also been referred to asantenna swords due to their design.[1][2]
Beforebronze, stone (such asflint andobsidian) was used as the primary material for edged cutting tools and weapons. Stone, however, is too brittle for long, thin implements such as swords. With the introduction ofcopper, and subsequently bronze, knives could be made longer, leading to the sword.
Thus, the development of the sword from thedagger was gradual, and in 2004 the first "swords" were claimed for the Early Bronze Age (c. 33rd to 31st centuries), based on finds atArslantepe by Marcella Frangipane, professor of prehistory and protohistory of the Near and Middle East atSapienza University of Rome.[3][4][5] A cache of nine swords and daggers was found; they are made of anarsenic-copper alloy.[6] Among them, three swords were inlaid withsilver.[6]
These are weapons of a total length of 45–60 cm (18–24 in), which could be described as either short swords or long daggers. Some other similar swords have been found in Turkey, and are described by Thomas Zimmermann.[7]An exceptionally well-preserved example, similar in construction to theArslantepe swords, was discovered in 2017 in the VenetianMonastery of Lazarus.[8]
The sword remained extremely rare for another millennium, and became more widespread only with the closing of the 3rd millennium. The "swords" of this later period can still readily be interpreted as daggers, as with the copper specimen from Naxos (dated roughly 2800 to 2300 BC), with a length of just below 36 cm (14 in), but individual specimens of theCycladic "copper swords" of the period around 2300 reach a length up to 60 cm. The first weapons that can unambiguously be classified as swords are those found inMinoan Crete, dated to about 1700 BC, which reached lengths of more than 100 cm (39 in). These are the "type A" swords of the Aegean Bronze Age.[9][10]
TheMinoan andMycenaean (Middle to Late Aegean Bronze Age) swords are classified in types labeled A to H followingSandars (1961, 1963), the "Sandars typology".Types A and B ("tab-tang") are the earliest from about the 17th to 16th centuries, types C ("horned" swords) and D ("cross" swords) from the 15th century, types E and F ("T-hilt" swords) from the 13th and 12th.The 13th to 12th centuries also see a revival of the "horned" type, classified as types G and H.[11] Type H swords are associated with theSea Peoples and were found in Anatolia (Pergamon[12]) and Greece.Contemporary with types E to H is the so-called "Naue II" type, imported fromSoutheastern Europe.
One of the most important, and longest-lasting, types of prehistoric European swords was the "Naue II" type, named forJulius Naue who first described them and also known as "Griffzungenschwert" or "grip-tongue sword". It first appears in c. the 13th century BC inNorthern Italy (or a generalUrnfield background), and survived well into the Iron Age, with a life-span of about seven centuries, until the 6th century BC. During its lifetime the basic design was maintained, although the material changed from bronze to iron. Naue II swords were exported from Europe to the Aegean, and as far afield asUgarit, beginning about 1200 BC, i.e. just a few decades before the final collapse of the palace cultures in theBronze Age collapse.[15] Naue II swords could be as long as 85 cm (33 in), but most specimens fall into the 60–70 cm (24–28 in) in length.
Swords from theNordic Bronze Age appear fromc. the 17th century BC, often showing characteristic spiral patterns. The early Nordic swords are also comparatively short; a specimen discovered in 1912 near Bragby, Uppland, Sweden, dated to about 1800 to 1500 BC, was just over 60 cm (24 in) long. This sword was, however, classified as of theHajdúsámson-Apa type, and was presumably imported. TheVreta Kloster sword discovered in 1897 (dated 1600 to 1500 BC) has a blade length (the hilt is missing) of 46 cm (18 in).[16]
A typical variant for European swords is the "leaf shaped" blade, which was most common in North-west Europe at the end of the Bronze Age, on theBritish Isles in particular.The "carp's tongue sword" is a type of bronze sword that was common to Western Europe during ca. the 9th to 8th centuries BC. The blade of the carp's tongue sword was wide and parallel for most of its length but the final third narrowed into a thin tip intended for thrusting. The design was probably developed in north-western France, and combined the broad blade useful for slashing with a thinner, elongated tip suitable for thrusting. Its advantages saw its adoption acrossAtlantic Europe. In Britain, the metalwork in the south east derived its name from this sword: theCarp's Tongue complex. Notable examples of this type were part of theIsleham Hoard.
The Bronze Age-style sword and construction methods died out at the end of the early Iron Age (Hallstatt D), around 600-500 BC, when swords were once again replaced by daggers in most of Europe. An exception is thexiphos from Greece, the development of which continued for several more centuries.
The "antenna sword", named for the pair of ornaments suggesting antennae on its hilt,[17] is a type of the Late Bronze Age, continued in earlyiron swords of the EastHallstatt and Italy region.[18]
Sword production in China is attested from the Bronze AgeShang dynasty, from roughly 1200 BC. The technology for bronze swords reached its high point during theWarring States period andQin dynasty (221 BC – 207 BC). Amongst the Warring States period swords, some unique technologies were used, such as casting high-tin edges over softer, lower-tin cores, or the application of diamond shaped patterns on the blade (see theSword of Gou Jian). Also unique for Chinese bronzes is the consistent use of high-tin bronze (17-21% tin), which is very hard and breaks under excess stress, whereas other cultures preferred lower tin bronze (usually 10%), which bends instead. China continued to make both iron and bronze swords longer than any other region; iron completely replaced bronze only in the earlyHan dynasty.[citation needed]
Bronze Age swords have been found from theVedic Period. InSinauli, antenna swords were found buried alongside chariots.[19]
Swords are also found in archaeological findings of theOchre Coloured Pottery culture throughout theGanga-YamunaDoab region of India, commonly made of copper and tin, but in some instances made of bronze. Diverse specimens have been discovered inFatehgarh, where there are several varieties of hilt. These swords have been variously dated to periods between 1700-1400 BCE, but were probably used more extensively during 1200-600 BCE (Painted Grey Ware culture,Iron Age India).[20]
Sword production in Japan has been attested since the early middle Yayoi period, approximately 300 BC. In northern Kyushu, the late 4th century B.C. (early mid-Yayoi period) saw the emergence of the Korean-style bronze culture, symbolized by bronze mirrors with fine linear design and bronze swords, dagger-axes, and spears.[21]
