Research: Bronze Age combat
How did people fight in the Bronze Age? Were the tarnished bronze swords we now see in museums ever used in combat? And can science shed light on long-forgotten fighting methods and tactics? These questions are being explored by an innovative project at Newcastle University, which combines field experiments in prehistoric combat with the use-wear analysis of archaeological weapons.
The project involves a series of controlled combat tests with replicas of Late Bronze Age swords, spears, and axes, all custom-made by traditional bronze smith Neil Burridge (Bronze Age Craft). A rigorous experimental protocol has been devised for testing these weapons on two leather shields and other weapons, and the marks developed in the tests are being compared with traces found on archaeological weapons from museums.
Preliminary results of the project have been presented at the British Science Festival (Newcastle University) and the Bronze Age Forum (Queen’s University Belfast) in 2013. The project is still ongoing, and final results are expected in early 2015.
Project Leader: Andrea Dolfini
Other Staff: Rachel Crellin, doctoral student, Newcastle, Kate Anderson, Edinburgh, Raphael Hermann, postgraduate student, Newcastle, Jon Allison, undergraduate student, Newcastle
Sponsors: Newcastle University
Partners: Bede’s World Museum, Jarrow, Great North Museum : Hancock, Newcastle, Neil Burridge, Bronze Age Craft , Geoffrey Lowe, Centre for Film and Digital Media, Newcastle
