Free Republic

From the early seventeenth to the late nineteenth century, the West African Kingdom of Dahomey, now part of the Republic of Benin, was renowned for its legendary female fighting force known as the Dahomean "Amazons," who served as soldiers and palace guards. The kingdom was also known for its artistic and aesthetically pleasing swords. Since Dahomean rulers frequently imported luxury goods, including weapons, from European nations, scholars have long speculated whether these distinctive swords were locally made or perhaps custom ordered from foreign sources. According to a statement released by the Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation, a research team...

An ancient French sword has mysteriously vanished after 1,300 years wedged inside a rock 32ft off the ground. The Durandal, which is France’s version of King Arthur’s legendary Excalibur, was reported missing from the clifftop village of Rocamadour on Monday. It belonged to Roland, a famous knight in French literature who was said to own the ‘indestructible’ sword, which had become an iconic part of the area.

A re-analysis of more than 300 sets of 5,000-year-old skeletal remains excavated from a site in Spain suggests that many of the individuals may have been casualties of the earliest period of warfare in Europe, occurring over 1,000 years before the previous earliest known larger-scale conflict in the region...Teresa Fernández‑Crespo and colleagues re-examined the skeletal remains of 338 individuals for evidence of healed and unhealed injuries. All the remains were from a single mass burial site in a shallow cave in the Rioja Alavesa region of northern Spain, radiocarbon dated to between 5,400 and 5,000 years ago. 52 flint arrowheads...

A copper dagger more than 4,000 years old was found in a forest near the town of Jarosław on the San River in south-eastern Poland. This discovery is the oldest dagger made of metal found in the Podkarpackie Voivodeship.In the 3rd millennium BC, objects made of copper were extremely rare in the area, Dr Elżbieta Sieradzka-Burghardt, an archaeologist from the Jarosław museum, told PAP.This valuable object, dating back over 4,000 years, was discovered last November by Piotr Gorlach of the Jarosław Historical and Exploration Association, who – with the permission of the Podkarpacie Regional Historical Monument Conservator in Przemyśl –...

The Metsamor archaeological site is located near the village of Taronik, in the Armavir Province of Armenia, where the oldest trace of human settlement dates from the 4th millennium BC during the Copper Age.In the Bronze Age and Early Iron Ages, the site became an important religious and economic centre, developing into a city with many temples and sanctuaries, fortified by a citadel and cyclopean walls, and an advanced economy based on metallurgical production.Recent excavations have uncovered a sunken chamber framed by large stones, containing the remains of a wooden burial and two skeletons who died at the age of...

According to a report in Notes from Poland, a pointed bronze Celtic helmet with a neckpiece has been unearthed in northern Poland by researchers from the University of Warsaw and Poland's National Museum of Archaeology (PMA). The artifact has been dated to the fourth century B.C. "At first we thought it might be some kind of ancient vessel, as bronze vessels are much more common on Polish soil than helmets," said Bartłomiej Kaczyński of PMA. Conservators at PMA have begun to restore the helmet, which is in poor condition.

A new imaging method has uncovered modern alterations on Iron Age Iranian bronze swords, showing they were tampered with to boost their value in the illicit antiquities market. This discovery, using neutron tomography, highlights the challenge of detecting forgeries in ancient metalworking artifacts, essential for understanding early metallurgical innovation. Credit: Cranfield University Modern tampering on Iron Age Iranian swords was revealed using neutron tomography, complicating efforts to study ancient metalworking techniques. For the first time, an imaging technique has been applied to study Iron Age bronze swords from Iran, uncovering significant modern modifications that prove the weapons that the weapons...

Authorities announced Monday that two incredibly rare Roman cavalry swords were uncovered in the Cotswolds, England, during a metal detectorist rally.The two Roman cavalry swords were found along with their wooden scabbards and fitments, according to a press release from the Cotswold District Council. There was also a broken copper alloy bowl discovered with the weaponry.Fitments were discovered by Glenn Manning during a metal detectorist rally in the north of the Cotswolds.The swords have been appraised by Professor Simon James from Leicester University who says that these weapons are middle imperial Roman swords, which are often referred to as a...

A Florida man has pleaded guilty to possessing a firearm as a convicted felon. This comes after a traffic stop revealed a variety of weapons in the man’s vehicle. Basilio Amaury Bron, Jr. 43, Cape Coral, faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in federal prison. A sentencing date has not yet been set. According to court documents, on March 12, 2022, at around 5:00 p.m., Bron was driving carelessly and more than 100 miles per hour northbound on Interstate 75 near the Laurel Road exit. A deputy from the Sarasota County Sheriff’s Office stopped Bron’s vehicle for speeding. The...

The 5,000-year-old swords found 43 years ago during the excavations in the old mud-brick palace structure in Malatya Arslantepe Mound are the oldest swords in the world. Many archaeologists believed that the earliest swords only dated to around 1600 or 1500 BCE before the discovery of a cache of swords at the archaeological site of Arslantepe in Turkey. The nine swords from the archaeological site of Arslantepe (Melid) attest to the use of this weapon for the first time in the world – at least a millennium before the already-known examples. They date back to the Early Bronze Age (c....

My brother and I loved to play with my father's sword. The fact that my mother was quite unworried by this tells you a lot about the world we then lived in. It was a real weapon, made by Messrs Wilkinson, a beautiful patterned blade and a very sharp point. But the thing which fascinated me about it most was the hilt, several ridges of rough grey sharkskin... Now, the Royal Navy to which my father belonged had by then given up the use of naked steel blades, though only just. As recently as February 1940 sailors from the Destroyer...

Okay so we were a bit hard on brits as americans for the "lol no guns" thing but they have just now provided us with the first ACTUAL sword fight caught on camera that isnt choreographed or part of some LARP sport. VIDEO AT LINK.................. Warning: Graphic violence.................

Appearing from Riyadh on Fox News Sunday with Chris Wallace this morning, Secretary Tillerson fielded a slightly offbeat question and responded with what (outside President Trump’s speech) may have been the quote of the day (transcript here). Wallace observed that Tillerson asked Tillerson about the traditional Arab sword dance in which he participated upon his arrival yesterday. “And I have to tell you,” Wallace commented, “you looked pretty good while you were doing it – frankly, more comfortable than the President or Commerce Secretary Ross. Had you been practicing, sir?” Tillerson responded: “Well, I hadn’t been practicing, Chris, but it...

“King Arthur: Legend of the Sword” gallops into theaters this weekend, even if no one is showing up to see it. While there have been at least a half dozen versions of the King Arthur legend brought to film — including the 1981 “Excalibur” that helped launched the careers of Liam Neeson and Helen Mirren and the 2004 version with Keira Knightley — one staple has been the legendary sword in the stone, Excalibur. This latest version features Charlie Hunnam as Arthur, an orphan raised by prostitutes. Only after pulling the sword from the stone does he begin to learn...

The United States Army has created a new patch for soldiers who are fighting ISIS in Iraq. USA Today reports that “the Army's patch features crossed scimitars, a palm wreath and stars. The scimitars, short swords with curved blades, are meant to symbolize the twin goals of the U.S.-led coalition: to defeat the Islamic State, also referred to as ISIL, and to restore stability in the region, according to Army documents. The palm wreath is symbol of honor. While the stars and the buff-and-blue colors on the patch indicate the three-star command and the land, air and sea forces involved...

It was the sword of choice for the discerning Viking - superstrong, and almost unbeatable in battle. Yet mystery surrounds a small number of Viking swords researchers have uncovered. They are all inscribed with a single word - 'Ulfberht', which experts believe may reveal their maker.

Full Title: Heroin, guns, swords and a GRENADE LAUNCHER: Troubled ex-NBA star Robert Swift 'found with an arsenal of weapons and drugs in his bedroom' A former NBA player has been charged with a gun crime after a police raid on the house of an alleged drug-dealer where he was staying uncovered heroin, meth, guns, a grenade launcher and several prostitutes.

China seizes huge cache of illegal weapons including 10,500 guns and 120,000 knives and SWORDS Follows 4-month probe leading agents deep into China's criminal underworld Haul includes sniper rifles, machine guns, crossbows and samurai swords 15 people were arrested on suspicion of making and distributing arms Official says it was a family-run firm that 'gave business cards all over China'

They Shall Beat Their Swords Into Plowshares! (Isaiah 2:4) No verse in the scripture provides a better promise of "peace on earth" than Isaiah 2:4. This is the verse in context of the preceding verses of the chapter:     "1 The word that Isaiah the son of Amoz saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem. 2 And it shall come to pass in the last days, that the mountain of the Lord's house shall be established in the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills; and all nations shall flow unto it. 3 And many people shall go...

Not a lethal weapon I’ve done some fencing and I can tell you that the “weapons” involved are to actual blades as cap guns are to rifles.The most dangerous thing about them is the risk of the tip snapping off and hitting someone. It’s more of a risk in North Dakota where it gets really cold.But zero tolerance insanity has taken over every campus. “The current interpretation of the non-weapon policy in North Dakota State University (NDSU) …understands our fencing equipment as weapons,” says the club’s coach Enrique Alvarez.Alvarez has been fencing since his early teens. He says despite their...