Gladius discussion (was: show your gladius off)

[Luka Borščak]

Well, since Celtiberians were the basic designers of both blades, it's not surprising that they are similar...

I think the Mainz style Gladius was purely a Roman design as it appears in the latter half of the 1st Cent BC, well after the Celtibernians were subdued, and continued on in used for quite some time, until gradually replaced by the Pompeii style. Are you referring to the original Gladius Hispaniensis in general? Because that blade style had little in common with the Mainz other than the tang and that they were both double bladed. Most Glad. Hispaniensis were straight bladed and had thinner blades, whereas nearly all pugio and Mainz Gladius are fat and are wasp-waisted.

I meant both earlier Gladius Hispaniensis and Mainz, but Mainz as a more romanized version... But look at this Celtiberian sword from 4th/3rd century BC (photo by Manuel Velasco) and tell me it couldn't be a prototype for a mainz/fulham type gladii:
http://www.pinterest.com/pin/142285669451717641/

Very interesting. But I looked at other versions of the Arcobriga type swords (couldn't find many) and not all were as wasp waisted as the one you linked to. Now compare that to a pugio, which in nearly every case was heavily wasted.

Here is another very "mainz"-ish celtiberian shortsword:
http://www.liveauctioneers.com/item/10234037

And here is a celtiberian dagger, very similar to later pugios:
http://www.pinterest.com/pin/512354895082191269/

I never said both pugio and gladius descended from the same ancestor, spanish swords were inspiration, at least party, for the gladius, and spanish daggers are obvious ancestor of the pugio.