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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 me...
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... Generally, the program indicates the capability of a sword, but it cannot confirm that any specific one was indeed used as a weapon. Metalwear analysis (Molloy 2011;Dolfini and Crellin 2016;Hermann et al. 2020) in some examples could be very helpful in detecting traces of use on their surface. However, as almost all swords tested here (with the sole exception of Boğazköy) could indeed handle loads of forces, this by itself indicates them as potential serviceable and functional weapons. ...
... The weapons found from this period have been designed specifically to cause harm other individual's (Fyllingen, 2006;Molloy, 2007), leading the BA to be described as the first 'arms race' (Osgood, 2000;Harding, 2007). In the last two decades, research has demonstrated the weapons present in the BA were efficient and functional for combat situations (Kristiansen, 2002;Molloy, 2004Molloy, , 2007Molloy, , 2008Molloy, , 2011Anderson, 2011;O'Flaherty et al., 2011, Gilchrist andCowie, 2011;Dolfini and Crellin, 2016;Faulkner-Jones, 2016;Downing and Fibiger, 2017;Gentile and van Gijn, 2019;Hermann et al., 2020). The osteological record further supports this notion with evidence of healed and unhealed trauma in skeletal material, indicative of interpersonal violence (Table 1). ...
... 19 Kristiansen 2002, 320. 20 Hermann et al. 2020Hermann et al. , 1074 Molloy 2010, 419. better-preserved swords, a range of notches and dents is visible, serving as evidence that these weapons were indeed utilized in combat scenarios before their placement in burial contexts. ...
... Its use was likely similar, with a tendency to favour the hammer grip and the utilization of its shorter length in close combat. Notable features such as the pronounced flame-shaped blade, which allowed for deeper -------- 22 Molloy 2010; Hermann et al. 2020. 23 Kristiansen 2002Molloy 2010;2012;Hermann et al. 2020. ...
... Notable features such as the pronounced flame-shaped blade, which allowed for deeper -------- 22 Molloy 2010; Hermann et al. 2020. 23 Kristiansen 2002Molloy 2010;2012;Hermann et al. 2020. 24 Rover 2020, 12. cuts when slashing along soft tissue, and the cross guard that protected the hand, can be expected to have been taken full advantage of. ...
... Dawson (2016: 40); Molloy (2008: 117). 51 Hermann et al (2020). 52 A commonly recurring technique under different names which involves suddenly dropping under an opponent's sword and stabbing them. ...
... Bladed bronze weapons were used to cause extensive bleeding or injure the internal organs, only accidentally causing damage to the bones, considering the risk of the blade then getting stuck. It is probable that the attacks from bladed weapons were directed towards the limbs, neck and abdomen (Hermann et al., 2020). According to Molloy (2010), the metallurgic characteristics of BA swords would be associated with a high risk of the blade breaking if attempting to cleave a target with high force. ...
... According to Molloy (2010), the metallurgic characteristics of BA swords would be associated with a high risk of the blade breaking if attempting to cleave a target with high force. Rather, a controlled cutting with the blade is suggested (Molloy, 2010;Hermann et al., 2020). BA swords would as such rarely be associated with skull trauma, an assumption strengthened by bioarchaeological investigations (Aranda-Jiménez et al., 2009). ...
... There is of course a possibility that right-sided blunt-force trauma is connected to violent assaults such as raids, but in connection to Vandkilde's (2015) broader definition of war-related trauma, it would still be associated to a war-oriented social structure. As Molloy (2010) and Hermann et al. (2020) point out, to target the skull with a Bronze Age sword would be ineffective since the risk of the sword breaking would outweigh the possibility of harming the opponent. In this respect we would not expect to find sharp-force trauma of the skull region. ...
... Bladed bronze weapons were used to cause extensive bleeding or injure the internal organs, only accidentally causing damage to the bones, considering the risk of the blade then getting stuck. It is probable that the attacks from bladed weapons were directed towards the limbs, neck and abdomen (Hermann et al., 2020). According to Molloy (2010), the metallurgic characteristics of BA swords would be associated with a high risk of the blade breaking if attempting to cleave a target with high force. ...
... According to Molloy (2010), the metallurgic characteristics of BA swords would be associated with a high risk of the blade breaking if attempting to cleave a target with high force. Rather, a controlled cutting with the blade is suggested (Molloy, 2010;Hermann et al., 2020). BA swords would as such rarely be associated with skull trauma, an assumption strengthened by bioarchaeological investigations (Aranda-Jiménez et al., 2009). ...
... There is of course a possibility that right-sided blunt-force trauma is connected to violent assaults such as raids, but in connection to Vandkilde's (2015) broader definition of war-related trauma, it would still be associated to a war-oriented social structure. As Molloy (2010) and Hermann et al. (2020) point out, to target the skull with a Bronze Age sword would be ineffective since the risk of the sword breaking would outweigh the possibility of harming the opponent. In this respect we would not expect to find sharp-force trauma of the skull region. ...
Warriors and warfare have become common themes within Bronze Age archaeology over
the past 10–20 years. Recent reporting of Neolithic and Bronze Age massacres and
battlefields in Germany supports the presence of endemic violence in these regions. But
what about in southern Scandinavia? This paper explores the evidence of violence-related
skull trauma from a pooled sample of 257 individuals from 40 different localities in
southern Sweden. The results show that there is a relatively large difference in the
frequency of skull trauma depending on burial type. Due to the common practice of Early
Bronze Age reburials in Late Neolithic gallery graves, the high frequency of trauma in
gallery graves and barrows is probably linked to increased violence rates in the Early
Bronze Age. The majority of cases are caused by blunt force, and up to 13% of the
individuals were affected. Most of the traumata were healed, especially among males. It is probable that the high levels of blunt-force skull trauma in southern Sweden mirrors a
society with endemic warfare during the Early Bronze Age.
... 207-209). We can assume, however, that experienced fighters mainly targeted body parts that-despite the use of armour-offered access to important blood vessels or life-sustaining organs in a bid to induce maximum blood loss and rapid incapacitation 56 . The neck, shoulder and abdomen are such areas. ...
The Helmsdorf “princely” tomb, excavated at the beginning of the twentieth century, is one of the most important archaeological discoveries dating from the Early Bronze Age in central Germany. In addition to the burial inventory, which points to an elevated social position of the deceased, a number of highly fragmented skeletal remains were preserved. Forensic anthropological investigation identified three distinctive bone defects, the surfaces of which were macromorphologically and microscopically examined in greater detail. Micro-CT analyses were also carried out. The results of all examinations suggested that the defects represented three perimortem injuries. The wound morphology was indicative of the use of a bladed weapon. The combination of injuries and their locations supported the assumption of a targeted use of force to kill. A comparison of Early Bronze Age weapons and tools with the bone lesions led to the identification of a type of weapon possibly used in the attack.
... Kristiansen, 1984Kristiansen, , 2002Horn, 2013;Bunnefeld, 2016;Horn & Karck, 2019). This includes V-notches on cutting edges caused by other blades, or U-notches which could have been cause by being hit with axes, or by blows against handles, bones, or the rims of shields (Gentile & van Gijn, 2019;Hermann et al., 2020). Furthermore, evidence of repairs indicates that weapons were kept in a combat-ready state, suggesting frequent violent engagements. ...
In the Bronze Age, warriors are probably the best-known social class. Evidence for warfare and other violent encounters links them to aggression and bloodshed that could be translated into social status. This made warriors a potential two-fold threat to the social cohesion of their communities: not only did they risk threatening the integrity of communities as agents of death but also they could challenge local authority and cause internal conflict. Here, the author presents evidence that suggests that internal conflict was a major concern for Nordic Bronze Age societies, in that warriors constituted an internal social challenge, and proposes that local communities may have mitigated this threat in rituals such as the sacrifice of weapons and the construction of social narratives through rock art.
... C. 27 Maddin 1982, 303. 28 Molloy 2008Hermann et al. 2020. 29 Molloy 2011, 74. ...
... A sword is a traditional weapon that has been used across cultures for thousands of years. It has been used for hunting, defending against wild animals and even during face-to-face fighting in battle [1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8]. Traditional swordplay and rules gradually developed into modern fencing in the late 19th century and it became one of the earliest Olympic sports [9,10]. ...
Using two fencing swords manufactured in Europe and China, we investigated the typical materials used for fencing blades and compared the experimental results with the nominal compositions of a variety of steels. We found that spring steels and maraging steels were the primary metals used in fencing blades. The review then provides an overview of the chemical compositions, heat treatment processes, microstructures and associated mechanical properties of these materials. By combining the requirements for the safety of athletes, mechanical behaviors of different steels, and production costs for industry, we introduced possible directions for the heat treatments and processing methods that have the potential to enhance performance and overcome the limitations of previous materials. In addition, an ultra-strong steel, Fe-9.95Mn-0.44C-1.87Al-0.67V which could be a promising new candidate in this area, was recommended. Finally, we suggested that successful cooperation between manufacturers and researchers is necessary to reach the various requirements of fencing blades to meet the growing popularity of fencing in China.
