The Falx

[diegis]

Well, the falx i believe was one of the weapons of this kind, like a curved blade, on diferent sizes, with a handle of diferent sizes, and who was specifical to dacians. Romans themselves named such weapons as dacian, and at Adamclisi, is not yet certainly wich is the dacians and wich their allies ( there is still controverses ). Falx swords, as we agree about them ( a big curved blade, and a big handle for both hands, but, as in another thread was show, there was too one handed falx ) was only found in dacians archeological sites. Maybe dacians give such weapons to their allies ( as roman gived spatha for examples to their ), who knows, but for sure is a dacian weapon. The fact it was used in small amounts, and "disapear" after roman wars show, for me, the fact that was a weapon created to breake the roman wall shield, used mainly like a schyte, to cut legs, or as a kind of hammer, with the top hitting the enemy head, over the shield, depending of scutum position. Other kind of hits was posible ( as cutting even the shield, remember, a person from that times, who work in the woods to cut trees since childhood, have the skill and power to do such hits, thus i think it was not done too often in battle ), or hook the shield and pull, to imbalance the enemy and make him more vulnerable on some direction of hit, or hits over the scutum edges, to damage arms.