Trajanic / Hadrianic Pugio

[minvid]

I can imagine that this subject was discussed several times before, but I could not find a concret answer by the "search"-Function - so please help...!

Are there any archaeological evidences for the use of the Pugio between 100 and 130 n.Chr? I tried to find some, but the only one is the one at carnuntum - if it really dates in the 2nd century at all.



What about the "Titelberg"-Dagger, the frame-Sheath becomes very popular in the late 2nd century and was also known in the 1st century and in republican time. The small blade of the Titelberg-Dagger refers well to the one of carnutum above. By the way, I do not talk about this industrial 50$-Titelberg-"thing", but about the real one... :wink: How sure is it´s dating in republican time?



Are there any pugio fragments defintely out of the early 2nd century?

[garrelt]

Markus welcome

Again a familiar face on RAT.

[caiusbeerquitius]

The Titelberg dagger is by findspot and by chronology clearly an earlyer type of pugio. Similarities are there with several (fragmentary / complete) pieces from Spain starting in the 3rd c. BCE
The earlier types, however, usually have a round hilt, the later types a cut-off hilt. The 2nd-3rd c. CE types (Carnuntum, London, Künzing) have usually a "lunula"-shaped hilt. See
HERE.

The dagger you show above from Carnuntum is by its type perhaps dated wrong, following Obmann, such sheaths are 1st c. CE
But you never know. It is in general very often hard to say how long such items were in use. There is, e.g. a Negau type helmet, which was found in 1st c. BCE context (Giubiasco)

[Crispvs]

The dagger and sheath you show from Carnuntum actually almost certainly dates to the first half (possible second quarter) of the first century AD. The decorative scheme on the sheath is typical of this period. There is no telling how long it was used of course.

The Titelburg pugio probably dates to around the same time or a few years before. It may possibly be from the late first century AD but the form of the pommel expansion suggest to me an early first century date of production.

For the Trajan to Hadrian period we have very little evidence for daggers. One is shown on the stele of Caius Castricius Victor from Budapest which must date to the early years of the second century AD, but I am not aware of any other daggers either in depictions or so far recovered from the archaeological record which date to any period in the second century AD before the Antonine period, by which time they seem to have developed the crescentic pommel expansion and to have become somewhat larger. The evidence so far would suggest that they were reasonably uncommon during the first half (and possibly longer) of the second century AD.

If you are putting together a Trajanic / Hadrianic impression then, I would advise not including a pugio, as we don't really know how much they were being carried and what form any possible blades, handles or sheaths may have had.

Crispvs