Researchers' findings are changing understanding of gender roles in the distant past
Scientists in different parts of the world managed to unravel the mysteries of two ancient swords found almost simultaneously. In one case, the weapon belonged to an Iron Age female warrior, in the other, to a crusader.
Photo: Isles of Scilly Museum Association
Researchers have unraveled the mystery of a 2,000-year-old tomb on the Isles of Scilly near Cornwall, raising intriguing questions about military operations in Iron Age Britain.
For decades, archaeologists have puzzled over whether the stone burial chamber, which was discovered in 1999 on Breicher, the remains of a man or woman.
Excavations have unearthed a sword in a copper alloy sheath and a shield next to the remains of a single individual, items commonly associated with men. But a brooch and a bronze mirror were also found, adorned with something similar to the sun disc motif and commonly associated with women. The grave is unique in Iron Age Western Europe in that it contains both a mirror and a sword.
Now a scientific study by scientists from Historical England has determined that the remains belong to a woman, and this discovery may shed light on the role of female warriors in a period when intercommunal violence was considered a fact of life.
Initial attempts to establish gender traditional methods such as DNA analysis have failed due to bone decay. All that could be seen from the skeleton was a dark spot of soil where the body had once lay, and only small pieces of bones and teeth were found, weighing about 150 grams in total.
Scientific advances, notably the development of a sophisticated technique at the University of California, Davis, have made it possible to test tooth enamel, according to a study published in the Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports.
Dr. Glendon Parker, Associate Professor in the Department of Environmental Toxicology at the University of California, Davis, said: “Tooth enamel is the hardest and most durable substance in the human body. It contains a protein associated with either the X or Y chromosome, which means it can be used to determine sex. This is beneficial because this protein is well conserved compared to DNA. Our analysis involved extracting trace proteins from tiny pieces of preserved tooth enamel. This allowed us to calculate a 96% chance that the person was a woman.”
The main form of warfare 2,000 years ago was probably raids — surprise attacks — on enemy settlements. The mirror and weapons found in the grave are all related to the war.
It is believed that mirrors may have been used during the Iron Age for signaling, communication, and coordination of attacks. They also served ritual functions, being a tool to communicate with the supernatural to ensure the success of a raid or to «purify» warriors upon their return.
Dr Sarah Stark, a biologist who studies human skeletons in Historic England, said the finds are “evidence of the leading role of women in the Iron Age war effort on Scilly.»
“While we can never fully learn about the symbolism of the objects found in the graves, the combination of sword and mirror suggests that this woman had a high status in her community and may have played a commanding role in local wars, organizing or leading raids on rival gangs.”
Stark added: “This may indicate that women’s participation in raiding and other forms of violence was more common in Iron Age society than we previously thought, and this could lay the foundations from which later leaders such as Boudica emerged.”
Meanwhile, the other day there were reports that the mystery of the crusader's sword, found at the bottom of the sea off the coast of Israel, was finally solved. An ancient iron sword found off the coast of Israel is believed to have fallen into the ocean some 800 years ago during a fierce battle between the Crusaders and Muslim residents, Newsweek writes.
The shell-covered sword was recovered from the depths of the sea in 2021 and has now been X-rayed and formally described in a new study published in the Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA) journal Atiqot.
«Unfortunately, we can't see the sword as it was,» the researchers wrote in an IAA post on social media, noting that the shells that had grown on the weapon prevented the ancient sword from completely rusting and disintegrating. The study explains how the sword was studied without removing the «biogenic crust» layer of sand and shells, using X-rays to study what it looked like under its covering. Scholars have dated it to about the «twelfth to thirteenth centuries».
«The sword was used by a Crusader warrior who settled in the country after the First Crusade and established the Kingdom of Jerusalem in 1099,» said Jacob Sharvit, a researcher at the IAA.
“Given the bloody battles that took place in the country between the Crusaders and Muslims, known from several historical sources, we could expect to find more of these swords. In practice, we mostly find fragments, very few whole swords,” says Sharvit. – So far, seven swords from this period have been found in the country, most of them found in the sea. Swords were not usually discarded, but over the years, when they were no longer used, the metal was recycled for other uses.»
The iron sword is 35″ long and has a 1.8″ wide blade. X-rays also showed that the blade was curved, leading researchers to believe that it was probably used in combat by a crusader, since swords in this region of the world during the Crusades often had curved blades.
“The sword was part of the personal equipment of a knight or warrior. In those days, it was the main weapon in face-to-face combat, notes Joppe Gosker, one of the researchers. — Swords required a lot of high-quality iron and therefore were expensive. In addition, sword fighting required training and practice, and therefore only the nobility and professional soldiers fought with swords.»
Researchers believe that the sword may have fallen into the sea during a naval battle due to the fact that it was found without the usual scabbard sheath for a sword.
“Because swords were expensive, they were usually carried in sheaths . In this case, only the sword was found,” says Gosker. — Based on this, we can conclude that he fell into the sea during a battle, possibly with his owner. When we scanned the site, we didn't find any additional remains, but who knows? The warrior may still lie unrevealed in the depths, to be discovered one day by the quicksand.
The region where the sword was found by diver Shlomi Katzin, the Carmel Coast, is also home to many other archaeological discoveries from this era and beyond.
«Each new discovery, archaeological or accidental, adds another information to our understanding of the period or site of the excavation,» said Eli Escusido, director of the IAA, in a post on the social network.
«Thus, divers who reported the find to the Israel Antiquities Authority received a letter of thanks. along the coast of Israel there are many finds buried under the sand and in the sea, and they are often lost forever, and sometimes discovered by accident.It is important that qualified archaeologists record the finds and their context.In recent years, sea diving has become a popular sport, and hundreds of pairs of eyes explore the seabed. Consequently, new discoveries are being made, and they should be reported to the Israel Antiquities Authority, registered and kept in government treasuries, enriching our archaeological heritage.»