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Going to Pieces: Investigating the Deliberate Destruction of Late Bronze Age Swords and Spearheads

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  17 June 2019

Matthew G. Knight
Matthew G. Knight*
Affiliation:
National Museum of Scotland, Chambers Street, Edinburgh EH1 1JF
*
Email: m.knight@nms.ac.uk
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Abstract

The deliberate destruction of Late Bronze Age swords and spearheads has been widely recognised across Europe. This observation has typically relied on the obvious nature of the destruction, such as the bending of blades or the crushing of sockets, and the association of multiple broken pieces. These obvious acts have been used to interpret the material in sacred or profane terms without due consideration of how the objects were destroyed. This paper presents experimental research exploring how swords and spearheads may have been intentionally damaged in the Bronze Age. The results of these experiments are compared with artefacts from across Britain, making it possible to better identify and analyse deliberately destroyed objects. A series of implications for how one may more accurately interpret the wider archaeological record is presented.

Résumé

RÉSUMÉ

Tomber en morceaux: investigation de la destruction délibérée d’épées et de pointes de lance de l’âge du bronze tardif, de Matthew G. Knight

La destruction délibérée d’épées et de pointes de lance de l’âge du bronze tardif a été largement reconnue à travers l’Europe. Typiquement,cette observation reposait sur la nature évidente de la destruction, telle que des lames tordues et des manchons écrasés et l’association avec de multiples morceaux brisés. Ces actes évidents ont été utilisés pour interpréter le matériel en termes de sacré et de profane sans avoir prêté l’attention qui lui était due à la manière dont le matériel avait été détruit. Cet article présente des recherches expérimentales qui explorent comment des épées et des pointes de lance ont pu être délibérément endommagées à l’âge du bronze. Nous comparons les résultats de ces expériences avec des artifacts de l’ensemble la Grande-Bretagne ce qui permet de mieux identifier et analyser les artifacts détruits délibérément. Nous présentons une série d’implications pour comment on pourrait interpréter plus précisément l’ensemble plus étendu des vestiges archéologiques

Zussamenfassung

ZUSSAMENFASSUNG

In die Brüche gehen: Die Untersuchung absichtlicher Zerstörungen spätbronzezeitlicher Schwerter und Speerspitzen, von Matthew G. Knight

Die absichtliche Zerstörung von Schwertern und Speerspitzen in der Spätbronzezeit ist in ganz Europa bekannt. Diese Beobachtung beruht üblicherweise auf offensichtlichen Spuren der Zerstörung, zum Beispiel dem Biegen von Klingen oder dem Zerschlagen von Tüllen, aber auch der Vergesellschaftung mehrerer zerbrochener Stücke. Mit Hilfe dieser offensichtlichen Handlungen wurden die Funde als sakral oder profan interpretiert, jedoch ohne angemessene Überlegungen darüber, wie die Gegenstände tatsächlich zerstört wurden. In diesem Beitrag werden experimentelle Untersuchungen vorgestellt, in denen erforscht wurde, wie Schwerter und Speerspitzen in der Bronzezeit absichtlich beschädigt worden sein können. Die Ergebnisse dieser Experimente werden mit Artefakten aus ganz Großbritannien verglichen, was eine bessere Identifikation und Analyse absichtlich zerstörter Artefakte ermöglicht. Darüber hinaus wird eine Reihe von Schlussfolgerungen gezogen, wie der weitere archäologische Kontext exakter interpretiert werden kann.

Resumen

RESUMEN

Going to Pieces: investigando la destrucción deliberada de espadas y puntas de lanza de la Edad del Bronce Final, por Matthew G. Knight

La destrucción deliberada de espadas y puntas de lanza de la Edad del Bronce ha sido ampliamente documentada en toda Europa. Esta observación se ha basado obviamente en la caracterización de la destrucción, como la acción de curvar los cuchillos o el aplastamiento de la zona de agarre, así como su asociación con múltiples piezas rotas. Estas acciones se han empleado para interpretar el material en términos sagrados o profanos sin la debida consideración de cómo se produjo la destrucción del material. Este artículo presenta un protocolo de investigación experimental en el que se explora cómo las espadas y las puntas de lanza podrían haber sido dañadas deliberadamente durante la Edad de Bronce. Los resultados de estos experimentos se comparan con artefactos procedentes de Gran Bretaña, haciendo posible identificar y analizar mejor los artefactos destruidos deliberadamente. Se presenta toda una serie de implicaciones sobre cómo se puede interpretar con mayor precisión un registro arqueológico más amplio.

Keywords

Fragmentationexperimental archaeologyBronze Age metalworkswordsspearheads
Type
Research Article
Information
Proceedings of the Prehistoric Society , Volume 85 , December 2019 , pp. 251 - 272
Copyright
© The Prehistoric Society, 2019 

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