Besides perhaps the gun, no other weapon has been as heavily romanticized as the sword. For millennia, we’ve been using the sword to settle debates, both personal quarrels in the form of duels, and...
As long as humans have walked the Earth, they’ve been finding reasons to kill each other. Over time, we’ve gotten pretty good at it. It should come as no surprise then that over the years armies have...
Examination of stone tools excavated at the Cooper Ferry’s site in Idaho has revealed the presence of humans in North America 16,000 years ago. Having left behind distinctive Clovis points, their...
A lead sling bullet from the Hellenistic period with a Greek inscription proclaiming victory in battle, has been discovered in Israel. Dated to 2,200 years old, it was excavated in Yavne, and bears...
At first sight, Kiribati armor might look a little strange, it is certainly not a suit of armor as we tend to think of it. It was surprisingly effective, given that it was made from coconut fibers,...
The ancient world had some impressive military forces. For example, Egypt was famed for its chariots and Greece for its navy. The Romans? They were famous for their foot troops, the legionaries. Yet...
As a species, humanity has always been shockingly gifted at finding new ways to kill one another. As wars have raged over the millennia, armaments have had to evolve. This has led to some genuinely...
Although Leonardo da Vinci is predominantly remembered as a great artist, he was also a remarkable scientist and inventor. Many of his inventions were weird, some were wonderful, and more than a few...
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...
One of the key reasons that the study of history is vital is to ensure we learn from our past mistakes in order to improve. While this is true in all aspects of life, it is especially true for...
A 1,000-year-old “Boleslaw sword” (i.e., from the glorious reign of Boleslaw the Brave; lived 967-1025 AD) dated to the beginning of the 11th century and believed to have belonged to a knight working...
Hoplite comes from the Greek word “ ta hopla ,” which means “tool” or “equipment,” and was the name given to legions of citizen soldiers who were tasked with protecting their territories from outside...
Anyone interested in the history of warfare or weaponry should make sure to look at ancient Egyptian weapons and how the Egyptian armies utilized their technological superiority. Whilst most famous...
A scourge of early medieval Europe, the Vikings were a fearsome group. The very thought of a Viking sword slashing before you conjures images of fearless warriors raiding and pillaging villages,...
The medieval pike, around 3 kilograms (6.6 pounds) in weight and just under 5 meters (16.4 feet) in length, was a weapon supposedly invented in Turin, Italy in 1327 AD. However, its history was...
Excavations of Bronze Age “warrior graves” throughout Europe have nearly always led to the recovery of copper alloy Bronze Age daggers. However, their function has been poorly understood. It has long...