Medieval archers faced a daunting challenge when attempting to defeat knights clad in full plate armor . They turned to a combination of weaponry, strategy, and ingenuity to surmount this formidable...
In Oman , the possession of a khanjar is a matter of tradition and pride for men. These curved daggers , tracing their origins to the 16th or 17th century, have evolved from mere weapons to exquisite...
Amidst the serene village of Amanbaev in the Talas Region of Kyrgyzstan, a momentous discovery has come to light which has been dubbed the Kyrgyzstan saber. This ancient military saber sword boasts a...
Have you ever heard of the atlatl ? It's a prehistoric hunting tool that has been used for thousands of years, predating the bow and arrow . It consists of a long stick, usually made from wood or...
In the realm of medieval weaponry, few weapons were as brutally efficient as the falchion . A curved sword with a wide blade that tapered towards the tip, the falchion was designed to deliver maximum...
Was this German silver mine really defended by two Roman forts and a line of "spike defenses”? Or, were the Romans protecting something even more valuable than silver? Having spent several months in...
In the shadowy world of ancient warfare, one weapon stood out as a true marvel: Greek fire. In the 7th century AD, the Byzantine Empire harnessed the power of fire with the creation of Greek fire, a...
Over the last century a sword has been on display at the Field Museum in Chicago and dubbed a “replica Bronze Age weapon.” However, an x-ray has now disclosed that this brutal device of death is...
Researchers in Sweden were excavating a 400-year-old cellar floor when they came across this “rare” battle-sword from the Military Revolution. Archaeologists from Arkeologerna were digging at the...
There is no end to the multitude of close combat weapons , from swords to spears, scythes, pikes, maces, glaives, flails, partisans, and hundreds more. Often designed to inflict the greatest damage...
When you think of martial arts, karate is probably one of the first that comes to mind. It has appeared in countless action films, TV shows, and video games. Today, parents all over the world send...
The days of ‘cash as king’ are fading. Today, credit, debit, and digital currency have begun to slowly replace cash as the primary forms of payment, but it was not always so. For centuries, paper...
Throughout human history, animals have been effectively domesticated and used as an extension of the territorial desires of human beings. While dogs and cattle became effective elements in the...
Two small chunks of metal, buried separately but near each other, have turned out to be parts of the same ornate Viking sword. Separated 1,200 years ago, the first part of the sword ‘Queen of Gausel...
The origins of a rare sword discovered in a Greek monastery has baffled Greek archaeologists. However, it’s thought that the weapon might have belonged to Mediaeval Turkish pirates raiding the Greek...
Spearheads are often seen as representing the ‘highest tradition of the Bronze Age’. This statement is exemplified by the discovery of a Bronze Age spear at a Thames Water sewage works in Cirencester...
This week, security guards at the Taj Mahal, the enormous 17th century white marble mausoleum built in Agra by the Mughal emperor Shah Jahan , forbade entry to Ayodhya-based Hindu seer, Jagadguru...
In classical antiquity, Amorium was an important, strategically located city in the kingdom of Phrygia in the west central part of Anatolia, in what is now Asian Turkey. Amorium was founded in the...
Among several finds at a Viking burial site on Papa Westray, Orkney, is “a rare, exciting, and complex artifact” – a Mayback sword in the form of a Pedersen Type D, associated with the 9th century...
In ancient Japan, the Samurai utilized a wide range of weaponry other than swords, bows, and spears. These weapons were used in places where swords were not allowed to be carried, for self-defense...
Not all boomerangs come back. In fact, recent discoveries show that almost four centuries ago in South Australia the one-way version of the flying hunting stick was used for hunting, fighting,...
A bronze sword has been extracted from the ground in Denmark. Archaeologists are amazed at the excellent condition in which it has been found, including its wood and horn hilt which have survived for...
A metal detectorist has made a great discovery on the island of Jersey – a rare and complete metal spearhead that is thousands of years old. Researchers have called the Bronze Age spearhead “unique...
One of the most iconic images of the European Middle Ages is the castle. This defensive structure was often heavily fortified and provided its inhabitants with much-needed safety. It was usually...