History of the Sword - Early Bronze Age (3300 – 3000 BCE) - The First Swords at Arslantepe

Last crawled date: 1 year ago

Evolving as a natural progression from the short stone knives and daggers of the Neolithic Period (12,000 to 4,500 BCE) to the gradually lengthening edged forms resulting from the discovery and continuing development of metal working during the Copper Age (4,500 – 3,500 BCE) and Bronze Age (3,500 – 1,200 BCE) periods, the first swords are generally considered to have developed around 3,300 BCE, based on discoveries made during the early part of the 21st century. In March of 2003, while digging in the ruins of a collapsed palace complex at Arslantepe, a archaeological site in the Taurus Mountains of southeast Turkey, Marcella Frangipane, professor at the department of historical science, archaeology and anthropology of antiquities of Rome University, discovered nine swords dating back to about 3,300 B.C. These swords, whose lengths range from 45 to 60 cm, and whose blades and hilts were cast as single pieces in an arsenic-copper alloy, are today considered by many to be the oldest swords discovered to date, predating by 1,000 years the previous finds of ancient swords found in Alaca Hoyuk, also located in Turkey. This model represents seven of the original nine swords, including the three silver inlaid weapons, and are all drawn to scale. #Anatolia #archaeology #Arslantepe #bronze #bronze_age #copper #copper_age #history #sword #Turkey #weapon