I wanted to finish the topic of the Trojan War (only chariots, ships and the notorious "peoples of the sea" remained), as active VO users pointed out a number of circumstances that simply oblige me to continue this topic. First, with a sufficiently complete presentation of factual material based on archaeological finds, the "people" wanted to learn about the tactics of using and especially the effectiveness of certain types of weapons of the Mycenaean era. It is clear that such a science as historiography cannot directly answer this question, but answers only through the works of some authoritative authors. Secondly, a controversy arose regarding the actual technology of bronze. Someone thought that a bronze rapier was as heavy as a five-liter container with water, someone argued that bronze was not forged, in a word, the opinion of experts in this field was needed here too. Still others were interested in shields, their design, ability to resist blows from bronze weapons, and weight.
That is, it was necessary to turn to the opinion of the reenactors, moreover, people who are authoritative, “with experience,” who could confirm something by experience, but deny something. My friends casters of bronze figures in this case did not fit: they are artists, not technologists, and they do not know the specifics of working with metal, and besides, they hardly deal with weapons. And I needed people who had access to famous museums and their collections, working on their artifacts, remakes to order. The quality of their work (and the feedback on it) had to be appropriate - that is, the opinion of "armchair historians" regarding their products had to be high.
Modern replicas of bronze swords: at the top, type H, and at the bottom, type G.
After a long search, I managed to find three experts in this field. Two in England and one in the United States and obtain permission from them to use their text and photographs. But now the regulars of VO and just its visitors get a unique opportunity to see their work, get acquainted with technologies and their own comments on this interesting topic.
Neil Burridge holding the antenna sword.
To begin with, I'll give the floor to Neil Burridge, a Briton who has been involved in bronze weapons for 12 years. He considers the worst insult for himself when “experts” come to his workshop and say that they would make exactly the same sword on a CNC machine twice as fast and, accordingly, for half the price. "But it would be a completely different sword!" - Neal answers them, but not always convinces. Well, they are stubborn ignoramuses, and they are ignorant in England, and there is nothing to be done about that. Well, but seriously, he shares the opinion of the English historian of the 19th century. Richard Burton that "the history of the sword is the history of mankind." And it was precisely the bronze swords and daggers that created this history, becoming the basis, yes, precisely the basis of our modern civilization based on the use of metals and machines!
Sword type CI. Length 74 cm. Weight 650 g. As you can see, the "rapiers" of that time were not at all heavy and, therefore, they could be used for fencing. And in general, bronze swords were not heavier than iron ones!
An analysis of the finds shows that the most ancient "rapiers" of the 17th and 16th centuries. BC. were also the most difficult if we consider the profile of the blade. They have a lot of ribs and grooves. Later blades are much simpler. And this weapon is piercing, since the blades had a wooden handle connected to the blade with rivets. Later, the handle began to be cast together with the blade, but very often, according to tradition, the convex heads of the rivets on the guard were preserved, and the guard itself was the holder of the blade!
Mycenaean solid bronze sword.
Swords were cast in stone or ceramic molds. The stone ones were more difficult, and besides, the sides of the blade were slightly different from each other. Ceramic ones could be detachable, or they could be solid, that is, they work according to the "lost shape" technology. The base for the mold could have been made of wax - two completely identical halves cast in plaster!
Author's clay mold.
The copper alloy (and the Homeric Greeks did not distinguish bronze, for them it was also copper!) Alloy used in later swords (in the early ones there was nothing!), Consisted of approximately 8-9% tin and 1-3% lead. It was added to improve the fluidity of bronze for complex castings. 12% tin in bronze is the limit - the metal will be very brittle!
As for the general direction of the evolution of the sword, it was definitely moving in the direction from a thrusting rapier sword to a cutting leaf-shaped sword with a handle that is a continuation of the blade! It is important to note that metallographic analysis shows that the cutting edge of the blade of bronze swords was always forged in order to increase its strength! The sword itself was cast, but the cutting edges are always forged! Although it was clearly not easy to do this without damaging the numerous ribs on the blade! (Those who wrote about this in the comments - rejoice! That is exactly what it was!) Therefore, the sword was both flexible and tough at the same time! Tests have shown that such a leaf-shaped sword with one blow is able to cut a five-liter plastic container of water in half with an oblique blow!
Leafy bronze sword.
What does a sword look like when it comes out of a mold? Badly! This is how it is shown in our photo and it takes a lot of time and effort to turn it into an eye-pleasing product!
A freshly cast blade.
Having removed the flash, we proceed to grinding, which is now performed using
abrasive, but at that distant time it was carried out with quartz sand. But before you polish the blade, remember that at least 3mm of its cutting edge must be well forged! It should be noted that only a few swords of that time were absolutely symmetrical. Apparently, symmetry did not play a big role in the eyes of the then gunsmiths!
Blade processing begins.
This is how a fully prepared blade looks like with all the details. Now all this needs to be riveted and think about one more thing - regular cleaning of the blade, since polished bronze tarnishes at the slightest touch of fingers.
Author's remark: It's amazing how zigzags our life moves! In 1972, in the first year of the pedagogical institute, he became interested in Mycenaean Greece and Egypt. I bought two gorgeous albums with photographs of artifacts and decided … to make myself a bronze dagger modeled on the Egyptian. He cut it out of a bronze sheet 3 mm thick, and then, like a convict, sawed off the blade with a file until a leaf-shaped profile was obtained. The handle was made of … "Egyptian mastic" by mixing cement with red nitro-lacquer. I processed everything, polished it and immediately noticed that you can't grab the blade with your hands! And then I saw that the Egyptians had a blue "mastic" (they considered red to be barbaric!) And I immediately disliked the dagger, despite the abyss of labor. I remember that I gave it to someone, so, most likely, it is still acquired by someone in Penza. Then he made a bronze mirror for his future wife, and she really liked it. But I had to clean it very often. And now, after so many years, I again turn to the same topic and write about it … It's amazing!
The parts of the handle made of wood on a metal base are fixed on rivets and this is a laborious and responsible operation, since if the wood is fragile (in this case, you need to use an elm, hornbeam or beech), you can easily damage it with hammer blows!
The finished sword by Neil Burridge.
It is clear that Neal tried to reproduce, if not the entire typology of Sandars' swords, then at least the most impressive examples from it.
Mycenaean short sword of type B. Length 39.5 cm. Weight 400 g.
Type G sword found in the Mycenaean acropolis. Length 45 cm.
Completely finished sword type G with a "horned cross". The price of the blade is 190 pounds, and a fully worked sword with a gold ring on the hilt will cost you 290!
Sword type F (large). Length 58 cm. Weight 650 g.
A sword of the classic type Naue II of the late Achaean era, distributed throughout Europe.
The author would like to thank Neil Burridge (https://www.bronze-age-swords.com/) for providing photographs of his work and information. [Left] [/left]
The end follows.
