[April 9, 2020] Growing up in a community with many military veterans, I developed an interest in military history. The many stories told by these veterans fascinated me; a little boy from a town that didn’t have a traffic light, and the highlight of the weekend was a local dance. Maybe that is why I also came to be interested in the story of the oldest sword ever found.
Swords are highly symbolic.1 Over my desk, as I write this article hangs my U.S. Army saber (a type of sword), a replica of the Army Officers Saber Model 1902. Each day as I read, study, and write, I remember the day it was presented to me; I had earned the legal right and honor to carry a saber. Like all swords and sabers, the symbolic value is intense. That is also true today and most visitors to my home comment on it. A sword stands out, and people notice.
The sword pictured in the thumbnail to this article is ancient, and scientists are working to verify its origin and why it survived to the modern era. Archeologists believe it to be from the end of the 4th century BC, approximately 5,000 years ago, and the world’s oldest known sword. Generally used as an offensive weapon, this sword could have been a ceremonial object, part of a burial, or used as a combat weapon.
“Nonviolence is a powerful and just weapon, which cuts without wounding and ennobles the man who wields it. It is a sword that heals.” – Martin Luther King, Jr., Civil Rights leader
Martin Luther King, Jr. understood the meaning of the sword and its symbolism. As a Christian minister, he had read the Bible and had studied scripture, which frequently refers to the sword. He sometimes mentioned it in his speeches. One of his favorites was in Matthew 26:52. It reads, “Put your sword back in its place,” Jesus said to him, “for all who draw the sword will die by the sword.”
This article is not about history. It is about symbology and leadership. The sword symbolizes power, protection, authority, strength, courage, attributes of great leadership. Some are said to contain magical properties and given to heroes for the advancement of justice. In Greek mythology, for example, Perseus was given a sword by the gods that could cleave stone to defeat Medusa.
Everywhere in the world in ancient burial grounds, swords are found as artifacts. These findings suggest there is a great value attached to them beyond their extrinsic value. Finding those swords made thousands of years ago attests to the fact that a sword was not just practical and valuable as a commodity; it also was physical evidence that the leader who possessed it had significant authority and prestige.
And so it remains today, the sword is something we hold in awe. We cannot draw our eyes from it because it is so much a part of us that it holds something that draws us to it.
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King Arthur’s Excalibur … According to Arthurian legends, Excalibur is the sword that Arthur drew from a stone, which in turn, made him the legendary king. This sword is said to have special powers. On his death bed, king Arthur made Sir Bedivere throw the sword into the lake and the Lady of the Lake’s hand emerged from the waters and caught the sword. Legend says that Arthur sleeps peacefully and one day he will wake up and come back with his sword again when his country would need him.
There are many legends about swords. These are what some social scientists call “meta-stories” – those stories that are admired and loved by the most people. Swords certainly are symbolic and this story of King Arthur’s Excalibur is the first one I heard. My mom read it to me as a young child. And it has a special place in my heart.
On a positive note for the entire United States, Bernie Sanders (US Presidential candidate) suspended his campaign yesterday. This is good news. If he had been president today during the pandemic, hundreds of thousands of Americans would have died. He believes in open borders so sick people would have flooded the US. ?
Yes, that is true but so many cannot see this. Why cannot people see that voting for someone who just wants to give stuff to you is not a good idea. Well, I can thank the leftist professors and dumb primary school teachers. Of course, our parents are also not educated on what socialism/communism is about, nor do they know anything about a federal system we have here in the US.
American and the world certainly dodged a bullet on that one.
I typed in “sword” into Google and got 459 million hits. I think that may be close to the maximum. Just goes to show how powerful an idea(s) the sword represents.
Yeah, I typed in Baghdad swords and got a bunch too. It shows two huge crossed swords (sabers?) on a military parade ground. Take a look: https://www.google.com/search?q=crossed+swords+in+baghdad&sxsrf=ALeKk01wIuCyUrJ00bgI62tQuJdACFrShg:1586435426688&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjSgMTArNvoAhVuUd8KHT1WAskQ_AUoAXoECBUQAw&biw=1463&bih=835
Wow, thanks Wendy.
I’m not surprised. I did the same with “rifle” and got hundreds of millions also.
“10 Oldest Swords Ever Discovered”
https://www.oldest.org/culture/swords/
We are interested and fascinated by old stuff. Why? Maybe somebody can say but we all look at swords as something very special.
Well said, and we are also interested in old guns. Look at the symbolism there; much the same as the sword. Look around on the internet and search for the word ‘military’. You will find cross swords and cross rifles (or muskets) just about everywhere you turn.
Yes, swords are something special. Remember the “sword in the stone” story? Swords have a special place with humans. Mostly, I believe they are meant for defense although they can be used offensively. Like a pistol in the wild west, carrying a weapon means your survival.
Hi Lynn. Hope you’ve been well. You can related to this. Each time I return from a combat zone, I felt naked without my rifle. When you carry a weapon 24-7-365 for protection and getting to the enemy, when you give it up, your life is weird feeling.
You’re spot on with that comment, Army Captain. Yes, I’m well. And, I hope you and your family are surviving the coronavirus pandemic.
Interesting artifact. I went to the original article that gives a summary of the discovery in a museum. Too bad there is not more on it.
I read that it had been misclassified as a new sword from a area that it probably did not come from.
Yes, that is a self imposed part of the responsibility we all should be taking into account. Read the background material. Like reading the footnotes in a book.