September
22
/ 2018
Archaeologists found knives, arrows, a cavalier's spur and silver coins from what may be the site of the important 1315 AD Battle of Morgarten, during which Swiss peasants repelled an attack of cavalry of the Holy Roman Empire. The finding in 2015, from the Morgarten plain on the border of Zug and Schwyz cantons, is being called significant. The battle marked the first time in Europe that peasant forces overcame a feudal host. The victory by the Swiss led to the consolidation of the Three Forest Cantons, which were the heart of modern Switzerland. In the history of European warfare, the battle was important because Swiss forces demonstrated that men armed with pikes (18-foot/5.5-meter spears) could defeat men in armor
