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#31
Quote:As part of the IIon Punic War project, we at Evocati are trying to build correct hastae velitaris (javelin) and republican pila. With wood from young trees or branches, hand forged points like the originals from Castellruf and Numantia and the size Polybius writed.
We are also practicing with this hastae and pila, with and without amentum (leather tong used to give more strength to the shot) and the results are amazing... More than 40 meters in some shots...


Hello Jorge ,Yes very interesting experiments ,i have some reconstructed Numantina site pila too.
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Hannibal ad portas ! Dave Bartlett . " War produces many stories of fiction , some of which are told until they are believed to be true." U S Grant
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#32
Regarding the use of the aspis in the second Punic war video, we are afraid we must correct the good willing but not necessary apologize of our friend Untilatie in the matter of the use of that weapon only as a resort to complete the cartage lines. Maybe he misunderstood some comment referred to some other detail. We must take in account that his specialty is the Iberian history , and not the Punic.
Without excluding at all the use in the cartage phalanx of the thureos, shield that was extended in all the Hellenistic world. Coexisting with Greeks and Macedonian shields. Can be considered documented and also logic the inclusion of the aspis in the cartaghe phalanx. Nevertheless is true that only a few material rest are discovered about the Punic war equipment, but among the little iconographic documentation of this matter, several aspis representations can be found, in the numid-punic tomb of II B.C of Djebel Chimtou, in Tunis, and also in some punic altar of Sicily of IV-II B.C., all of them with the corresponding Hellenistic type panoply. Also some aspis and greek type helmets are shown in Phoenician coins of Tiro, of IV B.C, founded in soldiers embarqued in triremes.
In Djebel Chimtou tomb, two aspis reliefs appear, with crests that we can consider characteristically Greeks, like a gorgon, and an eye, that because of his style belongs more to an attic ceramic of VI B.C, than a relief of II B.C.
As far as I know, I have not found another specific documentation over crests in Punic shields, or of his cultural area, apart from some reference to the white color of the shields belonging to the cartage “sacred band”. That obviously cannot lead to believe that all the Punic shields had an eye or a gorgon, Also cannot be lead to the fact that every shield has the basis white color, because maybe that is only characteristic of an elite corps, like the “sacred band”
For the rest of the Phoenician crests, can be deducted the possibility of using images and symbols similar than the images appearing in his coins, like happened sometimes in the Greek world, but we don’t have the fact to assure it (even knowing that should be logic taking in account that time habits)
Is also possible although that the warriors had his own familiar crests, or divinities and heroes or mythical beings representations, depending under which protection they would like to stay, or with which icon they want to identify themselves. As an example, the Hannibal family, the Barcids, where under the protection of Herakles (identified as the Phoenician Melkart , thing very common in the ancient world, where the syncretism between different religions was pretty common, more even if that let them be able to identify themselves with a high prestige culture, as the Greek). We need to consider that probably many warriors did not invest the time decorating their shields.
With that data basis, and the historic references of the Hellenistic model of the core of the Punic army (leaving outside the big number of mercenaries of various precedence) I have no other chance than make a plausible interpretation, taking as an example the Hellenistic armies of that period and the little archeological items (rests and images) that corroborate it
Along all the ages, the armies of very different nations had followed the models of more advanced cultures, or even the dominant ones, and in that moment and until the roman expansion by the Mediterranean Sea, the most prestigious culture, with the most prestigious army models, equipments, and tactical manuals was the Greek. And every nation of the time that wanted to be considered as advanced, participate and imitate those kind of things.
Apart from all the previous things, is known that Cartago was one of the most cosmopolitan cities of his time (more than Rome in that moment), and was imbued of the Hellenistic culture, all between his own and pronounced Punic character. Cartago had an important Greek community that had political rights and that participated in the city’s matters.

Athenea Promakhos
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