Dacian Falx vs. Roman Helmets & Armor

[Crispvs]

I have often noticed that on the Adamklissi Metopes, falxmen are usually shown accompanied by another man, suggesting to me that the falx might have been used as a 'squad' weapon, with the falxman accompanied by spearmen or similar who could take advantage of gaps he created while he recovered his swing. This would be consistent with what (as I understand it) we know about the use of the Claymore.

I also suspect that the falx might often have been swung in a 'figure of eight' style, which would be dangerous to legs and arms, as well as heads, but which would allow for more dynamic use and would not expose the user in the way the overhead chopping motion usually assumed by people today would do.


Also, I feel I should make mention of average lifespans, as often quoted. If an average life span of thirty years is mentioned, it *does not* mean that everyone died at the age of thirty of old age. It means that when you take the total of all of the young, adult and old age people who died and divide their combined ages by the number of individuals the result is the average age. For a simple example, if there are two people and one dies at the age of two whilst the other dies at the age of sixty, the average age life span would be thirty one, which would simply be an average and would in no way indicate the ages at which the two people died. This is how average life expectancy works.

So our hypothetical thirty year old Dacian would not be an old man. He would be a mature man with a family and who might have sons who were approaching manhood. He would be familiar with the use of weapons both for hunting and warfare and would still be fully capable of giving a good performance in the battle line.

Crispvs