Large Pictures

Some bronze swords shown in the Schleswig-Holstein Landesmuseum, Schleswig, Germany.
The one in the middle is a modern replica, showing the splendor of these swords when they were nicely polished.


Link to text	Source: Photographed 2014 at Schleswig-Holstein Landesmuseum, Schleswig, Germany

"Vollgriffschwerter" (Naue II type) in Schleswig. This blades are very similar to the ones found
in Nebra and dated to 1600 BC


Link to text	Source: Photographed at Schleswig-Holstein Landesmuseum, Schleswig, Germany

"Griffzungenschwerter" (Naue II type) shown in Schleswig.


Link to text	Source: Photographed at Schleswig-Holstein Landesmuseum, Schleswig, Germany

Thrusting swords shown in Schleswig. Note the pronounced central ridge.


Link to text	Source: Photographed 2014 at Schleswig-Holstein Landesmuseum, Schleswig, Germany

Bronze swords shown in in the Copenhagen / Denmark museum


Link to text	Source: Photographed 2014 in the Copenhagen museum


Link to text	Source: Photographed 2014 in the Copenhagen museum

Bronze swords shown in in the Dublin / Irland museum


Source: Photographed 2015 in the Dublin museum


Source: Photographed 2015 in the Dublin museum

The archaeological museum in Stockholm has several interesting bronze swords on its (badly lit)
display, including one with a golden handle:




Source: Photographed 2015 in the Stockholm museum

The Eemitage in St. Petersburg, while world famous for its pictures and baroque affluence,
also has an archaeological department where (badly lit and described) swords and other things are shown.
Here are some (eastern?) bronze swords with somewhat unusual shapes:


Source: Photographed 2015 in the Eremitage; St. Petersburg

Bronze swords and spear points form the so-called Huelva hoard found in Spain.
There is some debate if these swords belong the the "carp's tongue type" common in western and eastern
Europe around 1000 BC. The blade of the carp's tongue sword was wide and parallel for most of its length but the
final third narrowed into a thin tip intended
for thrusting. The design was probably developed in north western France and combined the broad blade useful for slashing
with a thinner, elongated tip suitable for thrusting. Many carp's tongue swords have been found in England.


Link to text	Source: Museo Arqueológico Nacional, Madrid, Spain

The famous Rørby sword - only two of this kind have been found so far (in Denmark?) says
the Copenhagen museum.
On top is the one with the engraved boat.
However, there is at least one in Stockholm,/ Sveden, see below


Link to text	Source: Photographed 2014in the Copenhagen museum


Source: Photographed in the Copenhagen museum.

Here is the Stockholm sword, found in Östergötland, Heda, Norrö and dated to 1700 BC - 1500 BC:


Link to text	Source: Photographed 2015 in the Stockholm museum

Bronze swords were very expensive. If you couldn't afford one, you could still try to emullate one using flintstone.
Here are examples.


Link to text	Source: Photographed in the Copenhagen museum.

Khopesh or sickle sword; typically bronze but some iron ones have also
been found. The khopesh (or khepesh) evolved from battle axes; around 1300 BC it became
outdated. King Tut's khopesh is thus about "the end of the line".


Tutankhamun's bronze khopesh; ca, 1350 BC	Egyptian iron khopesh from Shechem ca. 1800 BC; with electron (Au / Ag alloy) ornamentation	Assyrian bronze sickle sword; ca, 1300 BC Metropolitan
Link to text	Source: Internet at large

The Assyrian sword bears the cuneiform inscription: "Palace of Adad-nirari, king of the universe, son of Arik-e-ili, king of Assyria, son of Enlil-nirare, king of Assyria". One is inclined to believe that it belonged to Adad-nirari who lived from ca. 1307 BC - 1275 BC. The sword has no working edge.

Here we have three Luristan iron swords from a private Portuguese collection.
The swords are almost perfectly preserved. While they are very similar, they do show individual differences.
Then a sword sold at an auction, and a sword I found in the Israel museum in Jerusalem.


		Note that a bit of some sheath is still clinging to the blade
Link to text Source left: M. M. Khorasani: "Arms and Armor from Iran", Legat Verlag, Tübingen 2006	Source: Photographed in the Israel Museum in Nov. 2017	Source: Photographed in the Brussels museum for art and historxy, March 2019


Link to text	Source: M. M. Khorasani: "Arms and Armor from Iran", Legat Verlag, Tübingen 2006


These two specimen live in the bowels of the "LACMA" (Los Angeles County Museum of Art); they are part of the Nasli M. Heeramaneck Collection of Ancient Near Eastern and Central Asian Art. The one on the left is peculiar. Only the heads are slightly corroded, the rest is like new and missing the "lions".
Link to text	Source: LACMA (and PinInterest, and ....)	Source: Interent, formerlyyAlamy but without further reference

This picture shows the structure of the blade of the Toronto Luristan iron sword.
The scale is not given but it is something like 5 mm across. The surface-near regions are substantially
lower in carbon than the center. This is probably due to de-carburization during extensive heating and forging


Link to text	Source K. R. Maxwell-Hyslop et al.

This picture shows details of some Luristan sword in comparison to the sword in the Louvre / Paris.
They are obviously quite similar.


Link to text

This picture shows a Luristan iron sword of type II found on the archive of a commercial dealer


Link to text

We have two Assyrian princes with swords on a limestone relief in the Khorsabad Palace;
Reign of Sargon II, 721 - 705 BC. Note that the one on the right seems to have
been "shaved" by some stone mason


Link to text	Source: Oriental Institute Chicago; Internet

Below we see the Assyrian king Ashurnasirpal II (ca. 883-859 B.C.) carrying a long sword besides his two
akinakai-type daggers. Note that the chape pf the scabbard is of the "winged chape" variety,
hinting at use from horse back.


Link to text	Source: Metropolitan museum; New York City

Some Greek or better Macedonian body builders hunting a lion with a spear and a kopis / falcata.
Note that the falcata would nit fit into the sheath.


Link to text	Source: Mosaic from Pella (ancient Macedonia) 400 BC - 300 BC. Pella Archaeological Museum; open domain

Hunting lions with a sword and loosing, it seems.


Link to text	Source:Photographed 2013 in a late Roman villa in Sicily, near Noto

A "Griffzungenschwert" ("Naue II type") from Altena castle; Germany.
About 1000 BC and from the general region.


Link to text	Source: Photographed 2014at Altena castle museum

The "Neues Museum" Berlin shows a Kopis / Falcata that it attributes to Spain:


Link to text	Source: Photographed 2015 in the "Neues Museum",. Berlin

Here is the Budapest falcata:


Link to text	Source: Photographed 2015 in the National Museum, Budapest, Hungary

Here is an iron sword in the shape of a bronze sword:


The text of the auction house (Timeline Auctions, July 2017) IRON AGE EARLY BRITISH CELTIC SWORD 12th-10th century BC An iron sword copying a typical pattern of the Late Bronze Age period, of generally Ewart Park form, the blade tapering from the point to its widest and tapering again to the flared hilt with a pronounced central rib to the full length; the hilt (lacking the extremity) with two surviving rivets that would have secured organic hilt scales. Extremely rare. Reputedly found in East Anglia, early 20th century, during dyke cutting operations. Footnotes The change from bronze to iron as primary material for weapons and implements happened slowly and spread to Britain from Europe; this sword is a direct copy in iron of a classic bronze type and the ironsmith who made it must have been familiar with the traditional bronze sword forms, indicating an early date and it was possibly imported from Europe. As such it represents a fascinating and important link between the two cultures of metalworking that started in the Proto-Celtic Hallstatt culture.
Link to text	Source:Timeline Auctions, July 2017

Here is the newly (2020) Arslantepe sword found in a monastery in Venice



Link to text	Source: InternetM ascribed to Andrea Avezzu / University of Venice

Here is the full drawing of the lost relief showing the taking of a Mannean fortress in 715 BC, as depicted on a now lost relief from room 14 (slab 2) of Sargon II's palace at Khorsabad



Link to text	Sources: Internet articel: Mannea, a forgotten kingdom of Iran. Karen Radner, 'Mannea, a forgotten kingdom of Iran', Assyrian empire builders, University College London, 2013