The 5,000-year-old swords found 43 years ago during the excavations in the old mud-brick palace structure in Malatya Arslantepe Mound are the oldest swords in the world.
Many archaeologists believed that the earliest swords only dated to around 1600 or 1500 BCE before the discovery of a cache of swords at the archaeological site of Arslantepe in Turkey.
The nine swords from the archaeological site of Arslantepe (Melid) attest to the use of this weapon for the first time in the world – at least a millennium before the already-known examples. They date back to the Early Bronze Age (c. 33rd to 31st centuries).
In the 1980s, Marcella Frangipane’s team at Rome University discovered a cache of nine swords and daggers dating all the way back to 3300 BCE. Frangipane declared the swords of Arslantepe the world’s oldest and first swords ever discovered.
They are made of an alloy of arsenic and copper. Three of the swords were exquisitely inlaid with silver. These weapons have a total length of 45 to 60 cm, which points to either a short sword or a long dagger classification.
This region is thought to be the birthplace of the sword as we see these blades begin to appear, made from this new technology and having the elements we think of as identifying a sword. They have a blade, guard, grip, and pommel like shape. Size wise they would be shorter than we think of today for most swords but in their time, they may well be the length that was achievable with the best technology of the day.
This advancement in metallurgy can be seen in many valuable objects found in high-status graves of the time, and these swords are among them.
There is a lot of debate about how these pieces work. Were they merely status symbols, or could they have served a practical purpose? Swords have been used for both purposes throughout history, and even if they appear unwieldy to our modern standards, they may have worked well enough in the hands of an antagonist in 3000 BCE to ruin your day.
The Aslantepe Mound in Malatya, where the first city-state was established, sheds light on history with its adobe palace, 5,500-year-old temple, swords, and spears. It is located on the western shore of the Euphrates, seven kilometers away from the city center.
Arslantepe Mound, which is on the UNESCO World Heritage List, was partially damaged after the Feb. 6 twin earthquakes in the country’s southern region.
With no damage to the permanent roof of the museum, the temporary roof suffered partial collapse but it did not cause harm to its archaeological texture.
News
A Gold Mourning Ring Found on The Isle of Man
21 April 2021
Continue...
21 April 2021
The ring found with a metal detector on the Isle of Man in December 2020 will be exhibited in the...
Anatolian Archeology, Classical Archeology, News
Roman-era chambers and clay offering vessels found in Antiocheia Ancient City, in southern Turkey
24 October 2022
Continue...
24 October 2022
During excavations in southern Turkey’s ancient city of Antiocheia, archaeologists discovered late Roman-era chambers and clay offering vessels. Antakya, better...
News
Anthropologists discovered a bone in the Grotte du Renne cave in France that could indicate the presence of a previously unknown lineage of hom*o sapiens
9 August 2023
Continue...
9 August 2023
A bone discovered in the Grotte du Renne cave in France may represent the existence of a previously unknown lineage...
News
Astonishing discovery in Kazakhstan: Bronze Age girl buried with more than 150 animal ankle bones
7 September 2023
Continue...
7 September 2023
Archaeologists in eastern Kazakhstan have unearthed a Bronze Age burial mound of a girl surrounded by various grave goods in...
Classical Archeology, News
Roman Bath Complex Found under Spain’s Caños de Meca beach
22 May 2021
Continue...
22 May 2021
A well-preserved ancient Roman bath complex emerged from the sand of a beach in the Andalusian region of southwestern Spain....
News
Grave Goods Show Gendered Roles for Neolithic Age
16 April 2021
Continue...
16 April 2021
Grave goods, such as stone tools, have revealed that Neolithic farmers had different work-related activities for men and women. Researchers...
Classical Archeology, News
İnteresting Relief on the Roman Millstone
20 February 2021
Continue...
20 February 2021
During the Cambridgeshire A14 road improvement work, workers found an interesting millstone. A large penis was engraved in the Roman-era...
News
Archaeological Finding Traces Chinese Tea Culture Back To 400 BC
7 February 2022
Continue...
7 February 2022
An archaeological team from Shandong University, east China’s Shandong Province, has found the earliest known tea remains in the world...
News
Coin hoard found in fireplace ‘belonging to Scottish clan chief’ murdered at infamous Glencoe Massacre
17 October 2023
Continue...
17 October 2023 1
Coins believed to have belonged to a Scottish clan chief murdered in an infamous 17th-century Glencoe massacre, have been found...
News
The newly discovered fossils are 200,000 years old in Denisova Cave
29 November 2021
Continue...
29 November 2021
Scientists have discovered the earliest remains of a human lineage known as the Denisovans. Researchers have identified stone artifacts connected...
News
Skeleton Of “Spanish Monk” in Palace of Cortés Turns Out To Be An Aztec Woman
26 January 2024
Continue...
26 January 2024
Recent research at the Palace of Cortés in Cuernavaca, Mexico, has revealed a grave historical error. For 50 years, it...
News
Researchers measure the impact of Population Pressure on Prehistoric Violence in Japan’s Yayoi Period
23 August 2021
Continue...
23 August 2021
Are wars part of human nature? Do people tend to fight instinctively or do they war as a result of...
Anatolian Archeology, Classical Archeology, Travel
The Oldest-Known Center of Prophecy “Claros”
16 June 2021
Continue...
16 June 2021
Claros is an ancient Ionian settlement located in the hamlet of Ahmetbeyli near Ozdere, approximately 50 kilometers south of Izmir....
News
Archaeologists discovered an enigmatic complex of rooms, interiors of which covered with figural scenes unique to Christian art
7 April 2023
Continue...
7 April 2023
Archaeologists of the Polish Center of Mediterranean Archaeology at the University of Warsaw discovered an enigmatic complex of rooms made...