I’ve always wanted a sword. Ever since I was a knights-and-castles-obsessed little boy, I’ve wanted one. Doing classics, and then moving into East Mediterranean archaeology, did nothing to diminish this need, but it did make me realise one important point: Bronze Age swords are much cooler than their mediaeval counterparts. In the stressful times of my PhD, sometimes I would sit in the library browsing shops selling replica Bronze Age swords on the internet. Some people have cat videos; I had this. And cat videos. Midway through the PhD, I came very close to buying a replica Naue II sword – the kind that swept through the Eastern Mediterranean around the end of the Late Bronze Age and so something that cropped up relatively often in my work. I told myself it would partly be a teaching aid.
In the end that was just a little bit too pricy for my student budget, but now that I have the dubious advantage of a Proper Job, my sword aspirations were finally feasible. And, conveniently just before my thirtieth birthday, I discovered that a very talented sword-maker, artist and bronze-worker called Dave Chapman runs weekend workshops where you can make your own sword. These are smaller, British Bronze Age swords with elegant leaf-shaped blades. The kind I’d always sort of wished had been more common in the Mediterranean because they’re far more beautiful than a Naue II. And the whole thing was cheaper than a Naue II anyway. I didn’t quite get organised in time for a 30th birthday sword-making extravaganza, but last weekend, a year later, my girlfriend and I finally ventured into the heart of rural mid-Wales to join eleven other people for two days of recreational metalworking.
I have my sword. I made it myself and it is gorgeous.
Ancient Worlds 