Byzantine Swords Studied in Turkey

ESKIŞEHIR, TURKEY—Live Science reports that independent researcher Errikos Maniotis and Zeliha Demirel-Gökalp of Anadolu University have studied two iron swords unearthed in Amorium, a military stronghold located between the Byzantine capital of Constantinople and the cities of Nicaea and Ancyra. One of the swords, unearthed in 1993 in the ruins of a church, may have been placed there as an offering. Weapons placed in churches, Maniotis explained, were usually associated with the remains of warrior saints. This sword had a cross-guard, a piece of metal perpendicular to the blade. The other weapon, a double-edged blade that was at least 24 inches long with a five and one-half-inch handle, was discovered nearby in the lower city in 2001. Both swords have been dated to the tenth or eleventh centuries, and have a pommel shaped like a ring. Ring-pommeled swords have been traced back to China’s Han Dynasty (206 B.C.–A.D. 220), and have been found in central Asia, but are thought to have been rare in the Byzantine Empire, the researchers explained. And a ring-pommeled sword with a cross-guard is thought to be unique, prompting Maniotis and Demirel-Gökalp to call these weapons “hybrid Byzantine ring pommeled swords.” These unusual weapons may have been manufactured in Amorium, or their presence at the site may just be a coincidence, the researchers concluded. To read about a sunken Byzantine basilica discovered near the ancient city of Nicaea, go to "Our Lady of the Lake."