Conexiant
Login
  • The Analytical Scientist
  • The Cannabis Scientist
  • The Medicine Maker
  • The Ophthalmologist
  • The Pathologist
  • The Traditional Scientist
The Analytical Scientist
  • Explore

    Explore

    • Latest
    • News & Research
    • Trends & Challenges
    • Keynote Interviews
    • Opinion & Personal Narratives
    • Product Profiles
    • App Notes

    Featured Topics

    • Mass Spectrometry
    • Chromatography
    • Spectroscopy

    Issues

    • Latest Issue
    • Archive
  • Topics

    Techniques & Tools

    • Mass Spectrometry
    • Chromatography
    • Spectroscopy
    • Microscopy
    • Sensors
    • Data and AI

    • View All Topics

    Applications & Fields

    • Clinical
    • Environmental
    • Food, Beverage & Agriculture
    • Pharma and Biopharma
    • Omics
    • Forensics
  • People & Profiles

    People & Profiles

    • Power List
    • Voices in the Community
    • Sitting Down With
    • Authors & Contributors
  • Business & Education

    Business & Education

    • Innovation
    • Business & Entrepreneurship
    • Career Pathways
  • Events
    • Live Events
    • Webinars
  • Multimedia
    • Video
Subscribe
Subscribe

False

The Analytical Scientist / Issues / 2020 / May / Battle of the Bronze Age
Forensics Materials Science Spectroscopy

Battle of the Bronze Age

Unraveling encounters on bygone battlefields with fencing (and X-rays)

By Matt Hallam 05/27/2020 1 min read

Share

Researching combat of the past is no simple task, but the Bronze Age Combat Project is making a good stab at it by investigating markings borne by prehistoric swords. Their first port of call? Recruiting traditional bronzesmith Neil Burridge to cast modern-day replicas of excavated weapons.

Central to their research is the similarity of the sets of weapons. Investigator Quanyu Wang performed compositional analysis using scanning electron microscopy with energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (SEM-EDX) to demonstrate negligible alloy content deviation between authentic and replica weapons (incidentally, 88 percent copper and 12 percent tin); metallography and microhardness testing provided further confirmation of the similarity.
 

Replica swords used in the study. Image courtesy of Andrea Dolfini.

Next (and only slightly less exciting than SEM-EDX): combat tests based on a 15th century fencing manual followed by painstaking microscopic analysis of marks left on weapons.

Of 23 use-related marks observed on archaeological swords, 14 were recreated on the replica swords through testing. “Some can be securely linked to specific combat actions or weapon encounters, such as sword versus spear,” says principal investigator Andrea Dolfini. “And this gives us first-hand insight into Bronze Age fencing styles.” Let battle commence!

Newsletters

Receive the latest analytical science news, personalities, education, and career development – weekly to your inbox.

Newsletter Signup Image

References

  1. R Hermann et al, J Archaeol Method Theory (2020). DOI: 10.1007/s10816-020-09451-0

About the Author(s)

Matt Hallam

I've always wanted a job that fosters creativity - even when I worked on the assembly line in a fish factory. Outside work, I satisfy this need by writing questionable fiction. The venture into science writing was an unexpected departure from this fiction, but I'm truly grateful for the opportunity to combine my creative side with my scientific mind as Editor of The Analytical Scientist.

More Articles by Matt Hallam

False

Advertisement

Recommended

False

Related Content

How Dinosaurs Ate Their Way to Dominance
Forensics
How Dinosaurs Ate Their Way to Dominance

December 10, 2024

2 min read

Analyses of fossilized feces, intestinal contents, and vomit reveal how dinosaurs adapted to climate shifts

New Window into Ancient Microfossils
Forensics
New Window into Ancient Microfossils

October 4, 2024

1 min read

A new imaging technique using specially coated indium tin oxide (ITO) glass slides reveals key bioessential elements in ancient microfossils – suggesting that life 1...

New Window Into Ancient Microfossils: Part Two
Forensics
New Window Into Ancient Microfossils: Part Two

October 11, 2024

8 min read

Why the discovery of indium tin oxide glass slides ultimately led Akizumi Ishida and Kohei Sasaki to shed new light on early life on Earth – and to jump for joy

Mystery Solved: These Iron Age Infants Died of Natural Causes
Forensics
Mystery Solved: These Iron Age Infants Died of Natural Causes

October 17, 2024

5 min read

Ani Martirosyan walks us through her histological and synchrotron X-ray analysis that provides new insights into infant mortality in Iron Age Iberian populations

False

The Analytical Scientist
Subscribe

About

  • About Us
  • Work at Conexiant Europe
  • Terms and Conditions
  • Privacy Policy
  • Advertise With Us
  • Contact Us

Copyright © 2025 Texere Publishing Limited (trading as Conexiant), with registered number 08113419 whose registered office is at Booths No. 1, Booths Park, Chelford Road, Knutsford, England, WA16 8GS.