3000 yo sword

[GunnyGene]

Archeological finds like this always intrigue me. This one was discovered recently in Bavaria. Also alongside are a number of bronze arrowheads and other artifacts. I'd guess the man who carried these weapons was somebody important.

A couple other pics at the link. If you copy the pics to a image editor on your PC, you can enlarge for more detail.

https://www.cnn.com/style/article/bronz ... index.html

[Hatchdog]

Archeological finds like this always intrigue me. This one was discovered recently in Bavaria. Also alongside are a number of bronze arrowheads and other artifacts. I'd guess the man who carried these weapons was somebody important.

A couple other pics at the link. If you copy the pics to a image editor on your PC, you can enlarge for more detail.

https://www.cnn.com/style/article/bronz ... index.html

That’s awesome, my wife is really into this subject, I’ll share your pic with her.

[BrokenolMarine]

I love edged weapons, and old swords are too cool. Thanks for posting.

[GunnyGene]

I love edged weapons, and old swords are too cool. Thanks for posting.

You ever Westpac to Iwakuni? I did twice, and loved visiting the castle/museum up on that mountain. Lot's of old armor and swords on display. Got a bunch of pics (on film). If I can find them I'll scan & post a few. That whole area around the river was a great place to hang out for a day to. Beer in vending machines!!

[clovishound]

Cool. I spent a couple decades crawling around the bottom of the local rivers looking for artifacts. I also did a lot of volunteer work in underwater archaeology. It's thrilling to run across something that hasn't seen the light of day in decades, or millennia.

[RudyN]

That is a great find. My oldest sword is an American Civil War Cavalry Sabre.

[BrokenolMarine]

I love edged weapons, and old swords are too cool. Thanks for posting.

You ever Westpac to Iwakuni? I did twice, and loved visiting the castle/museum up on that mountain. Lot's of old armor and swords on display. Got a bunch of pics (on film). If I can find them I'll scan & post a few. That whole area around the river was a great place to hang out for a day to. Beer in vending machines!!

Never got there, but I did a NATO and toured British museums and the HMS Victory, Lord Nelson's Flagship. That was too cool after reading all that historical fiction for years, to stand on the actual ship. Way smaller than you imagined when you read the books.

I did a Med Cruise, Caribbean, Cuba, Gitmo... You know the drill.

[GunnyGene]

I love edged weapons, and old swords are too cool. Thanks for posting.

You ever Westpac to Iwakuni? I did twice, and loved visiting the castle/museum up on that mountain. Lot's of old armor and swords on display. Got a bunch of pics (on film). If I can find them I'll scan & post a few. That whole area around the river was a great place to hang out for a day to. Beer in vending machines!!

Never got there, but I did a NATO and toured British museums and the HMS Victory, Lord Nelson's Flagship. That was too cool after reading all that historical fiction for years, to stand on the actual ship. Way smaller than you imagined when you read the books.

I did a Med Cruise, Caribbean, Cuba, Gitmo... You know the drill.

Between the 2 of us, we seem to have covered about 1/2 the northern hemisphere. All my trips were the across the Pacific. Island hopping in a C-130 a couple times. In no particular order: Hawaii, Wake, Guam, Okinawa, VN, S. Korea, PI. Mostly peaceful.

[BrokenolMarine]

You ever Westpac to Iwakuni? I did twice, and loved visiting the castle/museum up on that mountain. Lot's of old armor and swords on display. Got a bunch of pics (on film). If I can find them I'll scan & post a few. That whole area around the river was a great place to hang out for a day to. Beer in vending machines!!

Never got there, but I did a NATO and toured British museums and the HMS Victory, Lord Nelson's Flagship. That was too cool after reading all that historical fiction for years, to stand on the actual ship. Way smaller than you imagined when you read the books.

I did a Med Cruise, Caribbean, Cuba, Gitmo... You know the drill.

Between the 2 of us, we seem to have covered about 1/2 the northern hemisphere. All my trips were the across the Pacific. Island hopping in a C-130 a couple times. In no particular order: Hawaii, Wake, Guam, Okinawa, VN, S. Korea, PI. Mostly peaceful.

I was stationed in the SAR squadron in HI for three years, taught in Memphis in the Avionics Schools as a Staff NCO, but most of my deployments were aboard Helo Carriers. I saw a lot of great countries, worked with joint task forces from various foreign militaries, and saw and did things I dreamed about or read about as a wide eyed kid. I regret not docking in Scotland, Ireland, and Australia...
But overall I loved my time in. Must have, I'd just reenlisted for six more when an injury caused my medical discharge.

[rickhem]

About 10+ years ago, my ex and I went with my son to the Metropolitan Museum of Art in NYC, aka, The Met. He was still in college and would get extra credit for going. I personally do not like going into the city as everything is crazy expensive and way, way too crowded. Aside from all of the other things there, they had an exhibit in their main central hall that they called Arms and Armor. Lots of old swords and such, and a lot of very old firearms, things like matchlocks, wheellocks, and a bunch of exceedingly ornate presentation arms with gold and ivory inlay. Actually found that area pretty interesting. But in the center of that hall, they had a display of four mounted knights, in full suits of armor, all holding lances, and the horses all wearing armor, all life size. To stand there in front of them, and imagine a few dozen of them storming into your village, it gave me a whole different perspective on the intimidation factor they have.

[GunnyGene]

These guys

https://www.metmuseum.org/about-the-met ... -and-armor

[BrokenolMarine]

I can remember standing in the "surgery" on the HMS Victory and the guide pointing out that the floor and the walls up to waist height were painted a deep red. He asked if anyone knew why. One of the guys on the tour knew... "Psychological, so the blood didn't show up. Unlike modern surgeries, they were almost always conscious when they were being treated." Kinda gave me a shiver.

I remembered the old joke, when the Captain of the ship saw four opposing ships of the line approaching, he told the mate: "Bring me my brown pants."

[rickhem]

These guys

https://www.metmuseum.org/about-the-met ... -and-armor

YES! That's it.
You have to be standing there to appreciate how big they are. My son and I wondered if they used unusually large suits of armor and horses more like draft horses, that is how big they seemed.
That exhibit sure impressed me.

Another little sidebar, that famous picture of Washington crossing the Delaware River is also on display at the Met. That thing is the size of a movie screen. We thought it may be an enlargement for display purposes, seeing as how some other famous paintings in there are smaller than a piece of copy paper, but that is the original painting. It is HUGE!

We had a lot of fun going through those galleries and people watching. So many people just stand and stare at some of these paintings. They even had a couch in the area with Washington's Crossing.

[BrokenolMarine]

My favorite Museum is the National Museum of the Marine Corps just outside Quantico in Triangle Va. However, we hated the drive to the Museum because of I95 traffic in NorVa. I didn't go as often as I would have liked, and then we moved to Oklahoma. Don't know if I'll ever get back.

[GunnyGene]

These guys

https://www.metmuseum.org/about-the-met ... -and-armor

YES! That's it.
You have to be standing there to appreciate how big they are. My son and I wondered if they used unusually large suits of armor and horses more like draft horses, that is how big they seemed.
That exhibit sure impressed me.

Another little sidebar, that famous picture of Washington crossing the Delaware River is also on display at the Met. That thing is the size of a movie screen. We thought it may be an enlargement for display purposes, seeing as how some other famous paintings in there are smaller than a piece of copy paper, but that is the original painting. It is HUGE!

We had a lot of fun going through those galleries and people watching. So many people just stand and stare at some of these paintings. They even had a couch in the area with Washington's Crossing.

People tend to think that everyone back then was short and skinny (malnutrition, etc.) Granted many were, but warriors were typically big strong men often over 6' and 250 lbs of pure muscle. That armor they wore was around 50lbs, plus all the padding etc. underneath and these guys could swing a sword or a battle ax for hours in combat or training. Everything they did was about fighting, and they ate well. Any of them would be a match for a modern cage fighter, and probably whup his azz. Their mounts trained with them and they needed big, strong, healthy war horses not just transportation. Those horses were weapons/fighters themselves, much like our modern military war dogs.

You might like this poem by Ezra Pound. It gives some insight into how they thought:

Sestina Altaforte

https://www.theotherpages.org/poems/pound01.html#8

LOQUITUR: En Bertrans de Born.
Dante Alighieri put this man in hell for that he was a stirrer
up of strife.
Eccovi!
Judge ye!
Have I dug him up again?
The scene is at his castle, Altaforte. "Papiols" is his jongleur.
"The Leopard," the device of Richard Coeur de Lion.

I

Damn it all! all this our South stinks of peace.
You whoreson dog, Papiols, come! Let's to music!
I have no life save when the swords clash.
But ah! when I see the standards gold, vair, purple, opposing
And the broad fields beneath them turn crimson,
Then howl I my heart nigh mad with rejoicing.

II

In hot summer have I great rejoicing
When the tempests kill the earth's foul peace,
And the lightnings from black heav'n flash crimson,
And the fierce thunders roar me their music
And the winds shriek through the clouds mad, opposing,
And through all the riven skies God's swords clash.

III

Hell grant soon we hear again the swords clash!
And the shrill neighs of destriers in battle rejoicing,
Spiked breast to spiked breast opposing!
Better one hour's stour than a year's peace
With fat boards, bawds, wine and frail music!
Bah! there's no wine like the blood's crimson!

IV

And I love to see the sun rise blood-crimson.
And I watch his spears through the dark clash
And it fills all my heart with rejoicing
And pries wide my mouth with fast music
When I see him so scorn and defy peace,
His lone might 'gainst all darkness opposing.

V

The man who fears war and squats opposing
My words for stour, hath no blood of crimson
But is fit only to rot in womanish peace
Far from where worth's won and the swords clash
For the death of such sluts I go rejoicing;
Yea, I fill all the air with my music.

VI

Papiols, Papiols, to the music!
There's no sound like to swords swords opposing,
No cry like the battle's rejoicing
When our elbows and swords drip the crimson
And our charges 'gainst "The Leopard's" rush clash.
May God damn for ever all who cry "Peace!"

VII

And let the music of the swords make them crimson!
Hell grant soon we hear again the swords clash!
Hell blot black for alway the thought "Peace"!

[BrokenolMarine]

The leaders of the sections of the Roman armies, if I remember correctly, were called centurians. They were responsible for one hundred men under them. Training, care, and welfare. They were tougher than their men. They too were well trained, well fed, and fierce in battle.