Cutting edge research: a new look at Iron Age swords from Iran

Over recent years, a large assemblage of metallic artefacts from Iran has been intercepted by the UK Border Force and, thanks to our colleagues in Tehran, we have the opportunity to research these in great detail prior to repatriation. Among the objects are bracelets, pins, horse trappings and numerous weapons such as axe heads, arrowheads, spearheads, daggers and swords. The latter two categories, defined as bladed weapons, were chosen as the focus of a PhD project jointly funded by Cranfield University and ISIS Neutron and Muon Source entitled “Complex Metallurgy of the Bronze Age-Iron Age Transition in Iran: Archaeomaterials and Forensic Investigations“. Being complex objects, swords lend themselves very well to investigations of ancient metal production and how that changed when bronze technology reached its peak in the region and iron began to be used for utilitarian purposes. The research explores bronze casting techniques, alloy choices, and bimetallic technology in the early Iron Age (circa 1250-550 BC).