Ancient Weapons and Warfare

This paper analyses a unique single-edged sword recovered from the Scythian grave 2, barrow 2, excavated near the village of Myrne in the Kherson Region, and provides typological and chronological analyses of similar artifacts from the North Pontic region. The paper also looks at the origin of such swords.

Il pilum è un'arma di cui si è persa la reale memoria con la fine dell'Impero Romano. Nei secoli successivi è stato tramandato un uso mitizzato da errate interpretazioni testuali del tutto sbagliate. La moderna archeologia ne sta restituendo la sua reale consistenza.

Though Odysseus’ tales to Eumaios and Aninoos in Odyssey 14.199–359 and 17.417–44, respectively, are presented as fictional tales within Homer’s larger myth, some elements have striking analogs in Late Bronze–Early Iron Age reality.

This article examines these portions of the hero’s false ainoi within their fictive context for the purpose of identifying and evaluating those elements. Particular focus is given to Odysseus’ declaration that he led nine successful maritime raids prior to the Trojan War; to his twice–described ill–fated assault on Egypt; and to his claim not only to have been spared in the wake of that Egyptian raid, but to have spent a subsequent seven years in the land of the pharaohs, during which he gathered great wealth.

Through a comparative examination of literary and archaeological evidence from the Late Bronze–Early Iron transition in the Eastern Mediterranean, it is shown that these aspects of Odysseus’ stories are not only reflective of the historical reality surrounding the time in which the epic is set, but that Odysseus’ fictive experience is remarkably similar to that of one specific member of the ‘Sea Peoples’ groups best known from 19th and 20th dynasty Egyptian records: the ‘Sherden of the Sea.’

In 1929, a collection of finds was discovered in the sand quarry near Honnersdorf (Jindřichov near Tršnice), which included a ceramic vessel, a sword of the long seax type and related ironwork of the sheath. The find immediately became the subject of polemic between German and after 1945 Czech nationalist authors, but was later forgotten and was never evaluated systematically. The present contribution now does this.
Alongside the material analyses, the text concentrates on rooting the Jindřichov finds in the context of the geographically, culturally and historically closest region, the Upper Palatinate. The reference group of eleven long seaxes from ten localities is compared in terms of landscape placement, the combination of grave goods and the morphological, decorative and technological features. The analysis reveals the substantial homogeneity of this group, indicating the chronological, cultural and symbolic proximity of the components. The Jindřichov find can thus be seen as part of the South German (Danube) group of long seaxes, placing its creation around the year 700.

In 2018, a team from the Austrian Archaeological Institute uncovered an alphabetic inscription that was painted onto a fragment of a Cypriote White Slip II milk bowl. The significance of the Lachish Milk Bowl Ostracon (LMBO) for biblical history cannot be overstated, as this ostracon ties the Israelites of Joshua's campaign directly to Canaan at the end of the 15th century BC. This inscribed potsherd from Lachish’s destruction layer, which dates to near the end of the Late Bronze Age I, attests to Israelites in Canaan just before 1400 BC. The ostracon includes a brief but legible writing in the script of the world’s oldest alphabet, whose prior attestation is reserved almost exclusively for inscriptions from Egypt (Lahun, Wadi el-Ḥôl) and Sinai (Wadi Naṣb, Serâbîṭ el-Khâdim), which the author previously demonstrated to be written in the Hebrew language. The LMBO is possibly the most definitive form of evidence of the Israelite conquest of Canaan yet discovered by archaeologists excavating in Israel.

Аннотация. Статья посвящена проблеме внутренних скифских конфликтов. Рассматривается археологический материал, включающий перечень скифских северочерноморских погребений с фиксируемыми «военными» травмами и ранениями погребенных, случаи замены и вторичного использования ритуальных каменных скифских изваяний, случаи ограбления могил соплеменниками и свидетельства письменных источников. Abstract. The author considers the problem of Scythians' internal conflicts. Analysing both written evidence and the archaeological material, she lists North Pontic Scythian graves with arguably " war " traumas of the buried men, as well as the cases when Scythian ritual stone sculptures were replaced or reused or when graves were plundered by fellow tribesmen.

This thesis studies the evidence related to warfare and warriors in the Early Iron Age of Greece, from the eleventh to the early seventh century B.C.E. It argues that “warrior” identity, as expressed through burial with weapons or depictions of armed men and combat in pictorial painting and literature, is connected to violent action in order to create, maintain, and reinforce the relationship between authority and violent action. The forms that this violent action took were variable, from interregional conflict to overseas raids. This is outlined in Chapter 1, which is followed by two chapters summarizing the palatial (Chapter 2) and postpalatial (Chapter 3) background to the Early Iron Age.

Chapters 4 to 7 present the evidence. In order to provide a more thorough analysis the focus is limited to the regions of Attica, central Euboea, the Argolid, and Knossos. The study of warfare in this period has been dominated by the study of weapons; in this thesis the approach focuses on the contexts in which these weapons are found, burials (Chapter 4), sanctuaries (Chapter 5), and occasionally settlements (Chapter 6). In these chapters the particular treatment and emphasis on weapons and armour is considered based on an understanding of these contexts in the period. In Chapter 7, representations and the treatment of warriors and warfare in Early Iron Age pictorial pottery is considered, as is briefly the literary evidence from the end of this period, which form the means by which contemporary people came to understand warfare. Chapter 8 discusses the evidence, while Chapter 9 summarizes the conclusions.

This thesis shows that while warrior identity and the practice of war are closely related, in these areas of Early Iron Age Greece there are variations in the identification of men as warriors and in the intensity with which war is fought. Throughout the period, these regions express warrior identity in broadly similar ways, but with variations in duration, accessibility, and meaning. The eighth century is particularly a period of change with the intensification of warfare manifest in the destruction of settlements, but these changes are not restricted to this century, and are in many ways similar to the preceding centuries on a larger scale.

No conflict can be totally understood without previously grasp the circumstances of all contenders. In this sense, to know the Dacian soldier’s panoply is essential not just to approach to the facts of the battlefields of Domitian’s and Trajan’s Dacian Wars (85-106 d.C.) and their consequential impact on the development of historical events, but also to apprehend the development of arms and tactics seen in the Roman Army during this period. Our goal is to present an updated reconstruction and analysis of Dacian infantry soldier’s offensive and defensive panoply during Decebalus’ times, of the military specialties derived from it, as well as its tactical and battlefield  impact. To do so, we will start from the last historiographical breakthroughs till the date and, also, from a critic re-reading of available fonts about Dacian infantry’s weaponry in 1st to 2nd Centuries AD, its origins, applications and possible foreign influences.

Warfare in the Ancient Mediterranean World, A Brill Companion to Classical Studies Series Series Editor: Lee L. Brice Aims and Scope The aim of the series is to publish high-quality, useful volumes each focused on a specific topic related to warfare in the ancient Mediterranean world. Where appropriate, volume coverage should include the eastern Mediterranean, including Assyria, Persia, Anatolia the Levant, and Egypt as well as Greece and Rome. The intended audience includes scholarly specialist and non-specialist students of the ancient world. Topics already published or in process include insurgency and terrorism, dealing with defeat, food and warfare, discipline/indiscipline, and Late Antiquity. We are seeking new volume proposals on a variety of topics covering a wide range of issues and methodologies. Specific topics we are interested in include: religion, topography/geography, reception of ancient warfare, medicine/death, Persia, Hellenistic world, archaeology/material culture and warfare, auxilia, the Pax Romana, navies, and peace, but we welcome proposals on any appropriate topic.

Egy sajátságos fokos Nagyhalászról. / Scythian Age hatchet - sagaris - from Nagyhalász (Hungary) AD HOC 2018
Rövid ismertetés a nagyhalászi griff6sasfejben végződő karú vas díszfokosról. / The short introduction of the Scythian Age griffin/eagle headed iron hatchet, called sagaris from the vicinity of Nagyhalász (Hungary)

Résumé - Cet article est la première étude détaillée d’un gisement sépulcral provençal du vie s. av. J.-C., découvert en 1952 et fouillé en 1964 et 1965. Après description de la cavité et des recherches, il comporte le catalogue méthodique du mobilier, essentiellement constitué d’armes offensives et défensives, mais aussi de pièces de harnachement de chevaux, et reprend, en les complétant, les résultats de deux analyses partielles des os, qui se rapportent très majoritairement à des hommes jeunes. Objets et restes osseux ont été déposés dans l’aven et constituent un ensemble funéraire original dans une région où les sépultures tumulaires sont alors la règle. Le site a aussi fait l’objet de pratiques plus tardives, marquées par le jet de monnaies au iie s. av. J.-C. et au ive s. apr. J.-C.

Abstract -This is the first detailed study of a sepulchral cave in Provence, dated to the 6th century BC, discovered in 1952 and
excavated in 1964-1965. It includes after the description of the cavity and presentation of the research, a methodical catalogue, mainly consisting in weapons. The results of the preliminary analyses of bones belonging for the majority to young men are being taken over with supplementary study. The deposit of artefacts and bones in a cave constitutes an original funerary complex in a region where barrows are the rule. Later on, practices were still featured by the throwing of coins during the 2nd century BC and the 4th century AD.

Zusammenfassung - Dieser Beitrag ist die erste detaillierte Studie zu einem Bestattungsplatz des 6. Jahrh. v. Chr. in der Provence,
der 1952 entdeckt und 1964-1965 ausgegraben wurde. An die Beschreibung des Fundplatzes (einer Höhle) und des Verlaufs der
bisherigen Untersuchungen schließt sich ein systematischer Katalog des Fundmaterials an, das sich im wesentlichen aus Angriffs- und Verteidigungswaffen zusammensetzt. Außerdem werden die Ergebnisse zweier Analysen des menschlichen Skelettreste aufgegriffen und ergänzt. Sie stammen weitgehend von jungen Männern. Der Fundstoff und die Knochenreste aus der Karsthöhle bilden ein originelles Zeugnis des Bestattungsbrauchs in einer Gegend, in der während der fraglichen Epoche die Bestattung im Grabhügel die Regel ist. Später wurde der Platz erneut aufgesucht: Für das 2. Jahrh. v. Chr. und das 4. Jahrh. n. Chr. ist der Einwurf von Münzen bezeugt.

The thesis investigates the presence of mercenaries in the Eastern Mediterranean, specifically in Egypt and the Levant, from the Late Bronze Age to the end of the sixth century BCE. The time frame predates the ubiquitous mercenaries of the Classical period onwards, and traces the origins of the profession and how it manifested in the archaeological record.
The examination begins with the earliest evidence for non-local contingents hired in armies during the Bronze Age, based on the sources and archaeological remains, in order to address how to define mercenaries in antiquity. From these instances, the thesis posits a new definition for mercenaries that encompasses the activities and characteristics of such foreign groups. The investigation then turns to the Iron Age, when the contemporary sources are scarce, but the archaeology is telling of numerous calamitous, historical events that precipitate the need for mercenaries.
Past scholarship argued that specific sites in the Iron Age Levant and in Egypt exemplify evidence of mercenary activity, based primarily on different ceramic repertoires. An evaluation of the case studies reassesses whether this is indeed the case; how do the archaeological remains function as indicators of mercenaries? What factors are revealing of non-local contingents situated in a different context? The material remains, and whether they indicate non-local cultural practices and activities, are investigated. By considering the available remains, in addition to the ceramics, including architecture, burial rites, ritual practices, weapons, and the contexts in which the finds are discovered, it is then possible to assess where and when mercenaries are traceable. The discoveries and interpretations from the thesis shed light on the archaeological indicators for mercenary activity, and which sites suggest such evidence, and which do not.

Στο νοτιο-ανατολικό τμήμα της πόλης της Πομπηίας υπήρχε μία περιοχή 40.000 τετραγωνικών μέτρων αποκλειστικά προορισμένη για τις δύο αγαπημένες δραστηριότητες των κατοίκων της Πομπηίας: την άθληση και την παρακολούθηση θεαμάτων στο αμφιθέατρο.

"L'arte della guerra" di Sun Tzu - testo fondamentale del pensiero cinese - ha avuto ampio seguito nella cultura occidentale in diversi ambiti. La presente analisi intende fornire una chiarificazione testuale sufficiente a fornire il quadro concettuale della visione di Sun Tzu.

Wstęp Mirosław J. Leszka, Kirił Marinow................................................... 1

I
Konstantynopolitańskie porty IV–XII w. [Constantinopolitan harbours in the 4th–12th centuries] Mirosław J. Leszka......... 5

II
Wszystkie okręty cesarza. Rozważania nad stanem rzymskiej marynarki wojennej za panowania cesarza Maurycjusza (582–602) [All ships of the emperor: Roman Navy during the reign of emperor Maurice (582–602)] Łukasz Różycki........................................................................................... 17

III
Konstantynopolitańska eskadra cesarska w dobie panowania Komnenów (1081–1185) [Constantinopolitan squadron in the era of imperial reign of Comnenian dynasty (1081–1185)]
Marcin Böhm....................................................................................... 47

IV
Wygnani biskupi Konstantynopola w późnej starożytności i ich kontakty ze stolicą nad Bosforem [The Exiled Bishops of Constantinople from the Fourth to the Late Sixth Century] Rafał Kosiński................63

V
Chazarowie w Konstantynopolu (VII–XI w.) [The Khazars in Constantinople] Jarosław Dudek …........ 79

VI
Miejsce portu w fabule dwunastowiecznego romansu bizantyńskiego [The port in the plot of the twelfth-century Byzantine romance] Anna Kotłowska . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 103

VII
Winieta Konstantynopola na mapie z Ebstorf [Vignette of Constantinople on the Ebstorf Map] Piotr Kochanek……………………. . . 113

VIII
Hodegon – z rozważań nad pierwotną lokalizacją konstantynopolitańskiego sanktuarium [The Hodegon. Considerations on the location of the Hodegetria sanctuary in Constantinople]
Piotr Łukasz Grotowski . ……………………………. . . . . 137

IX
Pogańskie prywatne uroczystości kommemoratywne w okresie wczesnobizantyńskim [Pagan Private Commemorative Rites in the Early Byzantine Period] Ireneusz Milewski . . . .  . ……………... . . . . . . . . . 215

Aneks [Annex]
Itinerarium Stefana z Nowogrodu z opisem konstantynopolitańskiego portu Kontoskalion (1348/1349). Przekład i opracowanie [The Itinerary of Stephen of Novgorod: Containing a Description of Kontoskalion Harbour in Constantinople (1348/1349).] Zofia Brzozowska .. . . . . . 227

Summary. . . . . . . ………………………………………. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 261

Wykaz skrótów [List of Abbreviations]. …. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 269

Bibliografia [Bibliography]……… . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 273

Źródła [Sources]. . … . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 273

Opracowania [Secondary Literature]..  . ……. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 289

Indeks osobowy [Index]. ……………. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 315

Indeks nazw geograficznych i etnicznych [Index of geographical and ethnical names]. . …. . . . . . . . . 328

Indeks nazw konstantynopolitańskich [Index of Constantinopolitan names]….. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 333

ABSTRACT: This documentary response sheet contains a series of 112 sequential questions drawn from the video, PBS: Helen of Troy (115 minutes; presented by Bettany Hughes).  The documentary examines what we know about Helen of Troy from Homer's Iliad and the mixed opinions and assessments of later writers and popular folklore. Bettany Hughes also places Helen of Troy within the broader perspective of what we know about elite Late Bronze Age women in Mycenaean Greece and Anatolia (e.g., Hittites), and other aspects of the circumstances revolving around the Trojan War, similar situations known from the Late Bronze Age, and other aspects of this period (e.g., warfare; trade; etc.). These sequential questions aim to maximize both student attention to various pertinent points made throughout the documentary and greater retention of the materials covered by the documentary.  In addition, the documentary has been vetted for overall content accuracy (albeit updated and/or corrected in-class), and selected to provide supplementary visual aids (e.g., images of regions, sites, finds, and other materials), additional specialist views (e.g., interviews), and other data to aid in student comprehension of the course lectures and readings from the textbooks.

Vlijmscherp verleden
Vlijmscherp verleden vertelt het verhaal over de geschiedenis van het zwaard en de rituele en symbolische betekenis ervan. U ziet bijna tweehonderd bijzondere zwaarden, afkomstig uit de prehistorie tot de twintigste eeuw. De pronkzwaarden, slagzwaarden en steekzwaarden komen uit bijna alle werelddelen. Blikvangers zijn de 'magische' bronzen zwaarden uit de prehistorie, Vikingzwaarden uit de omgeving van Dorestad, een Frans koningszwaard uit de Merovingische tijd en het Nederlandse Rijkszwaard, dat met de overige regalia een tastbaar symbool is van het koninklijk gezag.

Meer dan slechts een wapen

Het Rijksmuseum van Oudheden bezit de grootste collectie archeologische zwaarden van Nederland. Bruiklenen uit binnen- en buitenland verrijken de tentoonstelling en vullen het verhaal aan tot de twintigste eeuw. De zwaarden uit de verschillende perioden en landen geven u een beeld van de grote verscheidenheid in vorm, materiaal en versiering. U ontdekt hoe ze de afgelopen drieduizend jaar zijn gemaakt en u maakt kennis met hun (vaak) rituele en symbolische betekenis. Niet voor niets zijn zwaarden van oudsher een teken van macht, gerechtigheid en krijgskunst.

Zwaarden met persoonlijkheid

Een zwaard is niet alleen een wapen, het is veel meer dan dat. Al eeuwenlang staan zwaarden symbool voor macht, gerechtigheid en krijgskunst. Ze hebben vaak een aparte status en worden gezien als objecten met een eigen 'persoonlijkheid'. Zwaarden spreken nog steeds tot de verbeelding, net als degenen die ze droegen: strijders, ridders en soldaten.

Syllabus and Reading Schedule for The Rise and Fall of Popular Rule—Athens (Integrated Humanities Program, History Module, Fall 2018, UVM). Course Description: America's founders, when establishing our political institutions, took elements from those of ancient Athens and Rome, which pioneered representative government in various (and changing) forms. It is natural, after nearly two-and-a-half centuries, to think of our democracy as unshakeable and eternal. But independent popular rule in Athens—the focus of this class—lasted for less than two centuries, during which the city, after playing a leading role in the liberation of Greece from foreign control (The Persian Wars, 490–479 BC), grew into an Empire that imposed democracy on its subjects—some willing and others not—as a means of enriching and empowering itself. Athenian expansionism finally forced Sparta to lead a coalition against her rival (The Peloponnesian War, 431–404). Athens was eventually defeated. Though the city endured as an independent democracy until the conquest of Greece in 338 by Philip of Macedon (father of Alexander the Great), its defeat in the Peloponnesian War marked the end of the Athenian Golden Age. Through key ancient texts we shall follow the rise and fall of this political experiment, and examine the social and economic forces that led to the establishment and gradual corruption of Athenian democracy.

This forthcoming (rewritten) paper argues for the significance of swearing as a different type of language (a "proto-language") - one that serves to project and express unbearable, pre-verbal frustration, fear and feelings about Life's struggle, as well as truly awesome beauty. It is pitched somewhere in the psyche as an intermediary between feeling and action, before thinking makes its mark as a modifying agent.

A detailed exploration of the various unconscious meanings of different types of swearing modes is undertaken, and swearing is revealed as a complex and important form of emotional communication, notwithstanding its basis in the "primitive" origins of infantile anxiety.
The paper - originally a conference presentation with audio and video excerpts - is currently being updated (from its pre HBO-Netflix original form) because times have changed significantly in the past decade re Swearing no longer being quite the taboo that it once was.
During "renovations" this draft for the conference presentation is being made available, temporarily, and comments are welcomed - although the audio-visual elements are absent, and some paragraphs are still in shorthand form.

One of four known ancient Maya books, the Grolier Codex depicts different manifestations of Venus; the column of glyphs on the left of each panel records days in a 104-year Venus almanac. These plaster-coated bark-paper pages, carbon-dated to the 13th century, represent only half of the 20-page original. This article is an excerpt of pages 98-99 from the March 1990 National Geographic Magazine article "America's Ancient Skywatchers" by John B. Carlson with a numbered photographic arrangement of the Grolier Codex depicting the author's discovery that Codex pages 10 and 11 are actually two parts of the same "page 10".  Carlson clarifies the identities of Venus deities depicted in the Grolier Codex from a comparison of images from the Cacaxtla murals and links the images of the Grolier Codex with ancient Maya astronomically timed ritual warfare and sacrifice. (Grolier Codex photographs: Enrico Ferorelli; Mural photograph: Bob Sacha)

This article has been posted on Academia.edu as part of the Grolier Codex Project of the Center for Archaeoastronomy under the directorship of John B. Carlson, Ph.D.  The Grolier Codex Project seeks to further advance the study of the Maya Grolier Codex.

Starting from a 6th century AD weapon burial (SHM 27289) in Ed parish, Uppland, this paper has two main aims. One is to present and date the grave and sketch its social context.
The other is to collect and present a small group of Scandinavian Vendel Period weaponry with animal figurines (6th through 8th centuries) to which the grave’s sword mounts belong.

The grave contained fragmented remains of a sword, a display bandolier, a lance, two beads, a comb, three pots, and bones of one adult human and sundry animals. The find dates from the Early Vendel Period, c. 520–600 AD. This is the time of the rich inhumation graves Tuna i Alsike XIV, Vendel XI and Vendel XIV. Ed parish appears to have formed an aristocratic estate at the time.

Animal figurines occur on four Vendel Period sword pommels, a dagger pommel and two lance heads from Sweden, Finland and Norway. Helmets crested with boar figurines are depicted on embossed foil panels on Swedish helmets of the same period, but the only certain finds of actual boar-crested helmets are from two 7th century English graves, Benty Grange and Wollaston (“The Pioneer helmet”).

Link to download: https://hdl.handle.net/11299/220694

This article makes three arguments regarding the Battle of Thermopylae. First, that the discovery of the Anopaea path was not dependent upon Ephialtes, but that the Persians were aware of it at their arrival and planned their attacks at Thermopylae, Artemisium, and against the Phocians accordingly. Second, that Herodotus’ claims that the failure of the Phocians was due to surprise, confusion, and incompetence are not convincing. And third, that the best explanation for the Phocian behavior is that they were from Delphi and betrayed their allies as part of a bid to restore local control over the sanctuary.

After entering the second millennium BCE as a military superpower, Elam faded into historical obscurity upon its withdrawal from the broader Near Eastern political scene in 1763 BCE and only reemerged much later as a major player with a sequence of incursions in Mesopotamia beginning in the thirteenth century and culminating in the 1155 BCE fall of the Kassites. During the intervening centuries, neither written nor archaeological sources offer clear signs that Elamite territory had come under the authority of any foreign power. Here the authors propose that a reexamination of evidence from the ancient settlement of Kabnak (modern Haft Tepe), approximately seventeen kilometers southeast of the Elamite lowland capital of Susa, discloses a mid-fifteenth to mid-fourteenth century BCE state-controlled arsenal of war chariots and weaponry that may hold a key to comprehending Elam's apparent continued resistance to outside forces and its rise as a military superpower in the thirteenth century.

Cette conférence a permis de présenter le Projet Collectif de Recherche "Le Chablais au second âge du Fer : la nécropole des Léchères à Chens-sur-Léman", qui vise à étudier un ensemble funéraire de La Tène ancienne / moyenne sur la rive méridionale du lac Léman (Haute-Savoie) afin de caractériser les communautés occupant à cette époque les marges nord-orientales du territoire allobroge, par une analyse archéo-anthropologique, paléométallurgique et céramologique.

This short article attempts to show that there was not sword particular to the Spartans and that short swords were used by various Greek Armies from the Bronze Age. Origany published in Greek in the Naftiki Hellas (Naval Greece) magazine of the Hellenic Navy.

The Viking Age in popular culture is often set in a dark and lawless era, a
Hollywood conception of Ultima Thule, in which individual warriors fought
for personal glory. But the archaeological evidence suggests a much different
reality; the tale told by the inanimate objects uncovered from archaeological
sites is one of a highly organized society in which justice
and equality mattered. This view is also supported by the written sources.
Most scholars concede that society in Roman Iron Age to Viking Age
Scandinavia was well organized, and that a process of state building was
under way. Less focus, however, has been put on warfare and military
tactics during this period. What was warfare really like in Norway and
Scandinavia in the years before, and during, the Viking Age? In this paper,
an attempt will be made to analyze the extent to which early Scandinavian
society was organized for warfare, and possible external influences on
Scandinavian tactics in the Roman Iron Age and up to the Viking Age/
early medieval period will be explored.

Jak wyglądało życie twórców społeczności, której relikty nazywamy kulturą przeworską? Dzięki szerokopłaszczyznowym badaniom wykopaliskowym realizowanym przy okazji dużych inwestycji, np. budowach autostrad, można obecnie stwierdzić, że na przykład osady lokowano w sąsiedztwie rzek, szczególnie w miejscu ujścia mniejszych cieków do większych rzek, na terasach nadzalewowych. Wybór takiej lokalizacji był podyktowany dostępem do świeżej wody: podstawowym źródłem wody były nadal cieki wodne, mimo, że studnie różnych konstrukcji (z cembrowiną, z kłody, plecionki wiklinowej etc.) były już dobrze znane. Z drugiej strony cieki wodne stanowiły naturalne szlaki komunikacyjne. Poza tym występowało tu drewno (budulec i opał) oraz rudy darniowe - surowiec do wytopu żelaza, a można było także prowadzić uprawę ogrodową czy zbożową. Wybór terenów nadzalewowych wynikał z zagrożenia powodziami: okres subatlantycki, w którym istniała kultura przeworska, charakteryzował się zmiennością wilgotności i temperatur, co z pewnością prowadziło do okresowych wylewów rzek. Dopiero w III-IV w. dominować zaczęły osiedla zlokalizowane w wyższych partiach krajobrazu, a nawet zdołano wkroczyć na tereny podgórskie i górskie (dorzecze Popradu). Wykorzystywano tam zjawisko inwersji termicznej, dzięki któremu lepsze warunki dla rolnictwa panowały w partiach położonych powyżej dolin górskich. OSADY Osady miały bez wyjątku charakter otwarty, przeważnie z podziałem na część mieszkalną i gospodarczą. Tylko niekiedy - w przypadku dużych osad produkcyjnych - granica między strefami zacierała się. Układ budynków nie był jednolity: udokumentowana jest zabudowa luźna, ale także skupiska-zagrody. W zachodniej części kultury przeworskiej (Śląsk, Wielkopolska, centralna Polska) przeważało rozmieszczenie domostw wokół pustego placu. Na Mazowszu, w Małopolsce i na Podkarpaciu popularna była zabudowa rzędowa, zorientowana wzdłuż brzegów rzek; w takich przypadkach stosunkowo często stwierdza się brak podziału na strefę gospodarczą i mieszkalną. Być może zwiększona mobilność grup ludzkich w III i IV w. sprzyjała budowaniu osiedli mniej-szych niż w poprzednim okresie (nawet zagród jednodworczych). Obraz społeczności kultury przeworskiej przez lata budowany był w oparciu o wyniki badań cmentarzysk. Przyczyniło się to do nieuchronnych przeinaczeń. Powszechna była wizja społeczeństwa kultury przeworskiej jako ludzi strojnie odzianych, noszących kosztowne ozdoby, posługujących się cenną bronią i znających zaawansowane techniki kowalskie czy złotnicze, którzy zamieszkiwali w kontrastowo prymitywnych ziemiankach. Ostatnie lata przyniosły istotną zmianę tego obrazu.

This high school paper written by Dutch students Julian Colen and Jérôme Dorgelo provides you with information on the contribution of artillery to Roman warfare during the period of great Roman conquests. The paper examines this from both the history and the physics point of view, but is currently only available in Dutch.