Press release: Fighters using bronze swords clashed blades with their opponents

No. 57 - 29.04.2020

Research team with participation from the University of Göttingen unravels fighting techniques and traditions

Bronze is a relatively soft alloy and so it was often assumed that swords made of this material have usually only had a ceremonial or symbolic role. A new study by archaeologist Dr Raphael Hermann from the University of Göttingen, however, proves that such swords were resistant and suitable for combat. In fact, the research shows that Bronze Age swordsmen deliberately clashed blades with the opponent's sword and developed sophisticated fighting techniques similar to those from the Middle Ages. The study was undertaken as part of the "Bronze Age Combat Project" led by Dr Andrea Dolfini at Newcastle University. The results were published in the Journal of Archaeological Method and Theory, and as a monograph by BAR Publishing.

Based on the combat marks on original weapons and experimental reference marks, the project team reconstructed in detail how Bronze Age swordfighters used their weapons, and how swordplay developed over the course of the Bronze Age. Archaeologist, Dr Hermann, who is now a researcher at the Department of Prehistory and Early History at the University of Göttingen, designed around 150 combat experiments with sword, spear and shield replicas as part of his PhD research at Newcastle University. In addition, he recorded over 2,500 original combat marks on 110 bronze swords from Great Britain and Italy. The discovery of “diagnostic combat marks”, each of which can only be attributed to one specific fighting technique, led to surprising results.

"The medieval technique of versetzen (displacement), in which the opponent's sword is controlled with the help of the sword's own blade, left distinct bulges on the cutting edges, which are also frequently found on Bronze Age swords," explains Hermann. "Parries with the flat side of the sword, which are very often carried out with iron swords to protect the material, on the other hand, led to a strong bending of the bronze sword, so extreme that it was rendered almost completely useless". The two most frequently found combat marks clearly show that regular clashes of swords and spears also occurred.

Statistical analyses of the combat marks, arranged chronologically, revealed a multitude of clusters and patterns. From this, the emergence and further development of sophisticated sword-fighting styles and traditions in England and Italy can be deduced. "The technique of versetzen, for example, requires expertise and years of training," says Dr Hermann. These fighting styles vanished at the beginning of the Iron Age, which indicates a profound change in sword-fighting techniques.

Original publication:

Raphael Hermann, Andrea Dolfini, Rachel J. Crellin, Quanyu Wang, Marion Uckelmann. Bronze Age Swordmanship: New Insights from Experiments and Wear Analysis. Journal of Archaeological Method and Theory 2020. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10816-020-09451-0

Raphael Hermann, Rachel J. Crellin, Marion Uckelmann, Quanyu Wang, Andrea Dolfini. Bronze Age Combat: An Experimental Approach. BAR International Series 2967. British Archaeological Reports 2020. ISBN 9781407355719

Contact:
Dr Raphael Hermann

University of Göttingen

Faculty of Humanities

Department for Prehistory and Early History

Nikolausberger Weg 15, 37073 Göttingen, Germany

Tel: +49 (0)551 39-25083

Email: raphael.hermann@uni-goettingen.de