Roman Dagger one of 20 Best Ancient Weapons Discovery 2020

[guy]

Here's a list of the "coolest ancient weapons discovered in 2020":

https://www.livescience.com/ancient-weapons-swords-found-in-2020.html

 

This Roman Dagger was actually discovered in Germany in 2019. It was restored earlier this year.

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The dagger and belt were found by the 19-year-old intern Nico Calmund in April 2019 during an excavation in the Roman cemetery of Haltern am See in cooperation with the University of Trier. 

https://www.archaeology.org/news/8493-200302-germany-roman-dagger

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Archaeologists in Germany were "lost for words" after the discovery of a 2,000-year-old silver dagger. The weapon was found in its sheath in the grave of a Roman soldier who once fought against the Germanic tribes.

The dagger was so corroded, it took nine months of sandblasting and grinding before the sharp, 13-inch-long (35 centimeters) weapon was restored, at which point researchers were easily able to remove it from its richly decorated sheath.

The find is unusual, given that "it was not the normal practice for Roman soldiers to be buried with their military equipment," ....

 

 

 

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The belt also consists of numerous elements. The leather was densely covered with bronze or brass plates. To give the impression of expensive silver, the metal plates were covered with tin. The belt has two hooks into which the dagger was hung by means of leather loops. There are still parts of the belt leather left, which even show seams. Flax was used as thread.

 

https://archaeologynewsnetwork.blogspot.com/2020/02/unique-roman-dagger-found-in-germany.html

 

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It's a mystery why this individual was buried with a dagger. Perhaps the owner was a Celtic or German native. Unlike the Romans, members of those tribes were often buried with their weapons. Or maybe the person was Roman, but wanted the dagger to be included in the burial, Tremmel said.

The only other known Roman military belt, dagger and sheath discovery was in a small Roman military camp in Velsen, in the Netherlands. In that case, a Roman soldier was thrown into a pit during a military conflict with the Germans in 28 B.C.

 

Summary: I had always wondered why there weren't more discoveries of ancient Roman weaponry.

 

Below is a very interesting video on the find.

 

 

 

 

Edited November 14, 2021 by guy