Dacian Swords (Other than the Falx)

[crandell]

Dacian Swords (Other than the Falx)


Although in reconstructions (in pictures and among reenactors) a major emphasis is put on the falx, based on archaeological finds (not including representations on coins and works of art), this weapon seems to have been used quite little. In fact there have been about 10 actual falxes found to date (of which a few are suspected to be modern forgeries). The most common sword-like weapons are celtic swords, the gladius type with ring pummel, and the "fighting knife" (at ca. 60cm length). This misconception is often based on the fact that on Trajan's column, the falx is the most seen Dacian weapon. There are various theories as to why this is, but it is likely to do with a Roman practice of stereotyping ethnic groups and individuals in artworks so that the general public could easily recognise who was being portrayed. Regarding the use of the falx, it is generally assumed that this was used by front line soldiers to break up enemy lines so that the next line of soldiers with more conventional weapons could more easily come in and fight. So, not likely a Dacian elite warrior or nobleman's weapon. It should be noted as well for reenactors, that on the Adamclisi monument the falx men all appear to be topless (some deteriorated images may depict falx men with shirts), yet on the column they (and everyone else) is fully dressed.

For a recent public reenactment event of Dacian and Roman era, I made some Dacian weapons, including a ring gladius and a 60cm fighting knife. They were based on examples found in area around the Dacian capital in the Sureanu Mountains. The diagram "01-ringsword-1.jpg" shows a relatively complete sword (the tip was broken off). Diagram "02-ringsword-1b.jpg" shows a detail of the ring pummel. This find was interesting because it was found with a piece of leather still attached to the handle. I tried wrapping leather around the bare metal handle of my reconstruction and it held on great without any glue. I tucked in the end of the leather band underneath itself and it hasn't come undone yet. The diagrams in "03-dacian_swords.jpg" show some other Dacian swords, including a falx (object 1) and a relatively complete fighting knife (object 4). The scales are shown on all the diagrams as a scale bar where one black or white rectangle is 1cm. The originals show in these diagrams are now on display in the national history museum in Cluj-Napoca (Romania). Here's a photo of the exhibition ("04-Dacian_Weapons.jpg"). (Sorry, but I couldn't find a photo from the exhibition, so I used this one from Wikipedia.)

The photo "05-dacian_swords-reconstr.jpg" shows (from top to botton) the ring gladius, the fighting knife, and normal knife. The wooden pieces are the hand guards (incase it isn't obvious). The photo "06-ringsword-reconstr.jpg" shows the finished ring gladius. Photos "07-forge-1.jpg", "08-forge-2.jpg", "09-forge-3.jpg", and "10-forge-4.jpg" show me working at the temporary mini-forge that me and a friend set up at the event.

The photo "12-Cricau-forge.jpg" shows a forge and Dacian smith from another public demonstration at Cricau, Alba county and "13-Cricau-falx.jpg" shows a Dacian nobleman (also at Cricau) with the more well known falx and oval shield.

If anyone wants more details, let me know.



Cotis
(m.k.a. Otis Crandell)


Figures:


Figure 1 - Dacian Ringsword


Figure 2 - Dacian Ringsword (detail)


Figure 3 - Dacian Swords


Figure 4 - Dacian Weapons


Figure 5 - Reconstructed Weapons


Figure 6 - Reconstructed Ring Gladius


Figure 7 - Forge 1


Figure 8 - Forge 2


Figure 9 - Forge 3


Figure 10 - Forge 4


Figure 11 - Dacians


Figure 12 - Forge at Cricau


Figure 13 - Dacian with a Falx


NOTE: Since the server upgrade, it appears that the images can't load, so i switched them to BBCode instead.