Historians find swords and spears of long-forgotten warrior tribe in ancient cemetery

Republication from the first news 

Yotvingian sword found in cemetery. Photo by Jakub Mikołajczuk/Muzeum Okręgowe w Suwałkach.

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Archaeologists have discovered rare swords, spears and knives among hundreds of items belonging to a long-disappeared people famed for their warrior culture in the Suwałki region of eastern Poland.

The weapons were among 500 items dating back around 1,000 years dug up on the site of a cemetery belonging to the Yotvingians.

Medieval arrows caused injuries similar to gunshot wounds

Republication from smithsonianmag.com/

An arrow pierced the top of this man’s right eye and exited through the back of his skull. (University of Exeter)

New research demonstrates the immense power of the medieval English longbow

By Nora McGreevy

smithsonianmag.com

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Taking an arrow to the head is a decidedly unpleasant way to die. Luckily, most modern humans are more likely to encounter these historical projectiles in a museum than on the battlefield.

A new study led by archaeologists from the University of Exeter clarifies just how destructive the English longbow could be, highlighting surprising similarities between injuries inflicted by the medieval weapon and guns of today.

Varangians

 

An interesting reenactment of Varangian warriors. Note their full-body mail cuirass. Creator and reenactment group unknown – felicitations on their work.

The term ‘Varangians’ was actually a generic term for the Byzantines, describing

Viking migration left a lasting legacy on Ireland’s population

Republication from The Conversation

 

The early medieval period in Ireland (400-1200AD) was a time of key importance. It was a turning point in European history and the origin of much contemporary Irish culture and identity. Ireland, the early medieval “land of saints and scholars”, had much cultural and economic growth during the 5th and 6th centuries. Elsewhere in Europe there were unstable populations in the wake of the fall of Rome.

How contemporary conflicts resemble the medieval wars in Scandinavian areas

Republication from www.hf.uio.no ( University of Oslo)

“King Sverre’s march over the Vosse mountains” by Peter Nicolai Arbo (1862). Sverre was King of Norway from 1184 to 1202. Picture: Wikimedia Commons

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There are many ways in which to understand the new wars of today. One way is to look at the wars that took place in medieval times.

Most wars since 1989 have not been fought between states. The divisions associated with classical types of warfare – between soldiers and civilians, soldiers and criminals, war and peace – are not that clear anymore. Such as the present situation in Afghanistan.

In recent years, there has been a major international discussion among political scientists and anthropologists about how to understand new types of wars that have arisen since the Cold War.

The classical understanding of the term “civil war” is often imprecise when wars are fought across national borders. Instead, the term “new wars” has become more common among many experts and researchers.