The Falx

[MeinPanzer]

Certainly a difficult one to be certain either way, but a parallel with the rhomphaia from the same region springs to mind..........the weapon was certainly in use but apparently restricted in time and space to certain peoples, and not in widespread, or general, use among the peoples of the region.

I'm not so sure about the rhomphaia finding restricted use chronologically. Its minimum lifespan was from the late 4th C. BC (earliest actual examples) until the 1st C. AD (Valerius Flaccus' mention in Argonautica, though this perhaps could be referring to falxes).

Furthermore, I don't think it ridiculous to consider 'sicae' and 'falxes' two different weapon types......one is a single-handed weapon used in conjunction with a shield and in widespread use by Thracian and Illyrian peoples for centuries, and represented later as the 'Thrax' gladiator type, the other a specialised two-handed weapon used in a very limited time and space by one people only ( like the rhomphaia)

And what of the small "falxes" found? At what point did a sica become a falx? Some of the sicae depicted on the Kazanluk paintings are certainly much larger than your average sica, but are still employed one-handed. What are they classified as? What about the Thracians at the Kallinikos skirmish, who employed rhomphaiai and thureoi at the same time?

While varying sizes were doubtless in use, as per the archaeology, it would be wrong to totally ignore the iconographic evidence.....at least until better evidence comes along. :? ?

I would argue that it is dangerous to place too much emphasis on the iconographic evidence, especially since the iconographic evidence in this case is two monuments created by foreigner observers relating to a single campaign.