Nice find of well preserved Roman swords in the Dead Sea caves.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-66728207
Nice view from the cave entrance too! One wonders how much effort was involved in caching the weapons there nearly 2,000 years ago?
???
If it is indeed from the 130s, that's a very early ring-pommel sword:
"This type of sword originated around the mid-second century AD..." (https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection/object/H_2004-0301-1)
Makes it a very interesting find.
oooh nice
I think the dating of the finds is still to be decided - https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/376611 - there is always a tendency to try and match finds to major historical events and it doesn't always work out that way.
Also, over on Twitter, the Roman Military Equipment account (official account of the book ;) ) has said that the pilum find is a square sectioned spear head or possibly a catapult bolt.
https://twitter.com/EquipmentRoman/status/1699393808142655533
This report (https://edition.cnn.com/style/article/ancient-weapons-cache-judean-desert-scli-intl-scn/index.html) has a good picture of the so-called pilum head. It seems to lack the distinctive features of a pilum - small head and long shaft.
Quote from: Erpingham on September 07, 2023, 12:15:24 PMThis report (https://edition.cnn.com/style/article/ancient-weapons-cache-judean-desert-scli-intl-scn/index.html) has a good picture of the so-called pilum head. It seems to lack the distinctive features of a pilum - small head and long shaft.
This looks much more like a lance/spear head to me. Could this be of Spanish origin?
Quote from: Erpingham on September 07, 2023, 12:15:24 PMThis report (https://edition.cnn.com/style/article/ancient-weapons-cache-judean-desert-scli-intl-scn/index.html) has a good picture of the so-called pilum head. It seems to lack the distinctive features of a pilum - small head and long shaft.
Looks almost like a hoplite spear's butt-spike.
I tend to agree with you Duncan. Looks like a sauroter to me
https://sites.psu.edu/cams180hoplite/equipment/spear/
Quote from: Duncan Head on September 07, 2023, 02:15:02 PMLooks almost like a hoplite spear's butt-spike.
Thank goodness you said that. Like Dave, I thought that, but thought the Israeli archaeology service wouldn't make such a mistake. But with your breadth of knowledge, for you to think it, certainly opens it up. However, perhaps we are looking at re-use as a spear point? If you are a guerilla stashing what weapons you can get, make do and mend might be where you are at.
I don't know how likely it is to be a butt-spike, though, considering the apparent date. Roman spears, as far as I know, tend to have small "shoes" or else no butt-metalwork at all. Could it be something ceremonial, or a posh officer's weapon? It certainly looks like a sauroter, square cross-section and looking uncertain as to how sharp the point ever was, but I don't know how likely it is to actually be one.
I'll stick with the Roman Military Equipment view as its from such an authoritative source.
There is even a preliminary report available already ;D
https://www.academia.edu/106367108/Preliminary_Insights_following_the_Recovery_of_a_Cache_of_Roman_Period_Weaponry_from_the_Cave_of_the_Swords?email_work_card=title
And if Guy Stiebel is prepared to put his name to an account that calls it a pilum, then that gives me pause for thought...
This find has, I believe, been given the accolade of National Geographic's number 1 archaeological find of 2024.
Best find of NEXT year,
Crikey, that's confident
::)
It's such a great find they have already declared it too good to be beaten next year....
It does good to be organised
And I will have to build more Jewish Revolt figures with longer swords.
Revolting revolters!
Huzzah!