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Inagriculture, aplowshare (US) orploughshare (UK;/ˈplaʊʃɛər/) is a component of a plow (orplough). It is the cutting or leading edge of amoldboard which closely follows thecoulter (one or more ground-breakingspikes) when plowing.
The plowshare itself is often a hardenedblade dressed into an integral moldboard (by theblacksmith) so making a unified combination of plowshare and moldboard, the whole being responsible for entering the cleft in the earth (made by the coulter's first cutting-through) and turning the earth over.
In well-tilled terrain the plowshare may do duty without a preceding coulter.
In modern plows both coulter and plowshare are detachable for easy replacement when worn or broken.
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Triangular-shaped stone plowshares are found at the sites of ChineseMajiabang culture dated to 3500 BC aroundLake Tai. Plowshares have also been discovered at the nearbyLiangzhu andMaqiao sites roughly dated to the same period. TheBritish archaeologistDavid R. Harris says this indicates that more intensive cultivation in fixed, probably bunded, fields had developed by this time. According toMu Yongkang andSong Zhaolin's classification and methods of use, the triangular plow assumed many kinds and were the departure from theHemudu andLuojiajiao spade, with theSongze small plow in mid-process. The post-Liangzhu plows useddraft animals.[1][2]
Plowshares are often used in heraldry.
The ancient phrase from the biblicalBook of Isaiah, "to turnswords to ploughshares," is still in common use today. These plowshares represent peaceful use of wartime capabilities. On the other hand, theBook of Joel uses the phrase in reverse, "Beat your plowshares into swords".
However, inclassical antiquity during theBattle of Marathon, manyPersians were slain by a deadly plowshare-wielding ally who appeared suddenly on the side of theancient Athenians. After their victory and his disappearance, anoracle told the Athenians toworship the hero under the nameEchetlaeus: the hero with the "echetlon", or plowshare.[citation needed]
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