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Archaeologists find 3000-year-old sword, exceptionally well preserved

newsingermany.com

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Re: Archaeologists find 3000-year-old sword, exceptionally well preserved

#111

Post by George83728 »

svachalek wrote: post #32
lordleft wrote: post #12

It's funny to think that the fantasy/speculative fiction trope of "precursor civilization that has advanced tech" was probably grounded in the historical memory of people happening upon ruins, weapons and artifacts of extraordinary craftsmanship.

And oral history I'm sure. We will probably never know how advanced and widespread some of these ancient technologies are but the existence of artifacts that are far, far ahead of anything we would expect historically (e.g. Antikythera Mechanism, Gobekli Tepe) suggests there are some big, big holes in our records of the past.

I don't think anybody really thought much about it before the discovery of the Antikythera Mechanism, but at least in retrospect there seem to be clear reference to such devices in ancient contemporary literature. Particularly, Cicero described such devices and attributed them to Archimedes.

Re: Archaeologists find 3000-year-old sword, exceptionally well preserved

#112

Post by hotpotamus »

Loughla wrote: post #95
hotpotamus wrote: post #33

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I was under the impression that bronze swords' lifespans were limited by the metal; they can't be sharpened, but would need to be re-cast. A replaceable handle probably wouldn't help much.

Wait, can you really not sharpen bronze? From what I know it takes a good edge, just not quite as fine as steel would. But I don't know anything about not being able to sharpen it. Am I wrong? Can you really not sharpen bronze?

I have been told that, but I really don't know. It's a tech that's been obsolete for a couple millenia now, so I hadn't put much actual research into it.

Re: Archaeologists find 3000-year-old sword, exceptionally well preserved

#113

Post by hzay »

Archelaos wrote: post #18

The article is somewhat sensationalistic. Finding an octagonal type bronze sword ("Achtkantschwert" in German) from that period is rare, but we have quite a couple of them. Since bronze does not rust, the conditions of such swords are often quite good (and typically far better than that of medieval iron swords, for instance). Here is a map of the distribution of octagonal-hilted swords in Europe: https://www.research…

My knowledge of bronze vs iron comes purely from playing dwarf fortress. Are they fairly comparable in the damage they can cause?

Re: Archaeologists find 3000-year-old sword, exceptionally well preserved

#114

Post by mtrower »

pessimizer wrote: post #73
zulban wrote: post #63

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>somewhat sensationalistic What a cynical comment. The title doesn't even say rare, and there's only a few dozen found in "all of Europe", ever. What could possibly be seen as sensationalist here? Thanks for your excellent sources, however. I know it's trendy to say sensationalist, and it's often true. Just seems like a lazy thing to write in this case.

"Somewhat sensationalistic" ranks somewhere around "slightly uncomfortable" or "a little misleading" on the cynicism scale. I know it's trendy to write entire comments responding to a single, passing word usage in someone else's comment, but...

I wouldn't say it's used in passing. I'd say it's the entire point of their comment.

Whether the usage was reasonable I don't feel qualified to comment on.

Re: Archaeologists find 3000-year-old sword, exceptionally well preserved

#116

Post by contingencies »

ChuckMcM wrote: post #85

I collect swords, and this is a nice example. When researching swords from the medieval period I found this technique of starting with an octagonal "bar" of stock material and then using a hammer to shape the blade while leaving a round segment for the handle to be interesting. It makes sense of course, although it can make for an uncomfortable handle (hence the wrapped handles in more modern swords.)

Cool, what's your oldest sword and where does it come from? Do you display them or just collect them? I have a friend in Australia with a fairly significant knife (not sword) collection which will be for sale shortly (aged owner), let me know if interested.

Re: Archaeologists find 3000-year-old sword, exceptionally well preserved

#117

Post by spaceman_2020 »

mitchdoogle wrote: post #109
spaceman_2020 wrote: post #86

Earlier quoted context omitted.

My YouTube feed has been (pleasantly) taken over by ancient Rome videos where historians and archaeologists cover how various Roman inventions and buildings worked. I don't think people realize how far ahead of everyone else Rome was at that time. Like most people know that Rome had aqueducts bringing in water to the city, but they probably don't know that water was supplied to different buildings directly, and you c…

Sounds interesting. Do you have any channels or particular videos you'd recommend?

Look up “Ancient Rome Live” on YouTube and then go down the recommendations rabbithole.

Re: Archaeologists find 3000-year-old sword, exceptionally well preserved

#118

Post by mtrower »

mc32 wrote: post #26
sephlietz wrote: post #16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

With the caveat that I'm not an expert, that's the pommel (hilt is the entire handle) and it is at the bottom to prevent the sword from slipping out of your hand. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hilt

Heh, you're right on both counts; thanks! Looks like the pommel at the end acts as a counterweight for heavy swords.

Yeah, think about how leverage works, those things really suck to swing around and manipulate if you just bang them out without consideration for balance. Especially the larger ones...

Re: Archaeologists find 3000-year-old sword, exceptionally well preserved

#119

Post by mtrower »

rkagerer wrote: post #89
pessimizer wrote: post #80

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Pretty easy to say, but if someone is going to quit their job because they think the cookie banner they've been ordered to program will annoy people, they're either absurdly privileged or comically stupid.

I would never work someplace that promoted hostility to their users. I am neither privileged or stupid.

It sounds like you're at least privileged in the sense that you have the apparent option. For a lot of people it's a serious deal to pursue alternate employment, especially if the conditions they are seeking to avoid are a common practice in the industry.

Re: Archaeologists find 3000-year-old sword, exceptionally well preserved

#120

Post by yetanotherloser »

hotpotamus wrote: post #112
Loughla wrote: post #95

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Wait, can you really not sharpen bronze? From what I know it takes a good edge, just not quite as fine as steel would. But I don't know anything about not being able to sharpen it. Am I wrong? Can you really not sharpen bronze?

I have been told that, but I really don't know. It's a tech that's been obsolete for a couple millenia now, so I hadn't put much actual research into it.

You can definitely resharpen bronze. The castings are not perfectly sharp, the edges are further worked (and can be hammered and work hardened). I don't think you can redo work hardening indefinitely but you can a bit and can scrape and grind and hone repeatedly. There are (or were last I looked) some people supplying cast blanks these days for re-enactors to try sharpening up. Always wanted to try that one day.
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