Publication details
Stopy po použití na bronzových mečích z řeky Labe u Neratovic, okr. Mělník
| Title in English | Wear-traces on bronze swords from the Elbe River near Neratovice, Mělník District |
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| Authors | |
| Year of publication | 2019 |
| Type | Article in Periodical |
| Magazine / Source | Archeologie ve středních Čechách |
| Citation | |
| Keywords | use-wear analysis; sword; Bronze Age; warfare; Neratovice |
| Attached files | |
| Description | The article presents the results of traceological analysis of Bronze Age swords which were discovered in the riverbed of the Elbe River near Neratovice (Mělník District). A water environment creates ideal conditions for the preservation of bronze materials. The main question is whether these swords were used in armed conflicts during the Bronze Age. We presume that such activities might have left traces on the sword's surface which can be examined with the help of traceology. The performed analyses revealed traces which could be indicative of practical use of these swords. At the same time, however, radiography also showed a rather poor quality of the inner structure of both swords. The frequency of identified traces is rather low and intensive involvement of these two weapons in armed conflicts cannot be presumed. Also, the low frequency of notches, traces of use-wear on the tip and the bend of the blade indicate that the swords could primarily have been used as stabbing weapons. Such use was not very intensive and there is no fatal damage to the sword which would prevent its further use. They were most probably de- posited in the river for votive reasons. |