I'm aware of Fernando Quesada Sanz' "El armamento iberico", as a source material, but I'm wondering if anyone would happen to have any recommendations of more history books (or websites) on the subject of the Iberian falcata - particularly its dating - how long was the falcata in use? I've read some bits mentioning prehistoric iron age, 4th, even 7th C BC, and I've read some bits mentioning 2nd or 3rd C AD, so would love to see links to history of the weapon which outline the range of dates it was associated with. Likewise, I'd love to know about the development, geographic spread, and other factors for studying the history of the weapon and the people that it was used by.

I'd also like to start to learn a bit about the people of the Iberian peninsula, particularly from the period of the collapse of the roman empire through to the moorish expansion, so if anyone can suggest "idiot's guide to..." sources for them I would really appreciate it.

thanks in advance for any replies!

My apologies, given its been shifted. I had thought discussing and asking about information on the iberian falcata and its context would not be considered "off-topic" for a forum discussing arms... I was rather hoping to get info on the weapon, perhaps some links to examples in museums, and the likes, as well as the context of source material to look at, after all.

(And just to be a devil's advocate here, surely the first stage to learning about a weapon is understanding of context and history of it, and is as relevant a subject as the objects themselves, to the understanding of the weapon? Isnt that lack of understanding of technique and context the exact sort of failing which made so many victorian collectors assume medieval arms to be crude, etc?)

James,
As always, concerns about moderating activities should be addressed to a moderator. Since you've brought it up publicly, I'll say the following since people often take issue with posts being moved here:

1) Being moved to Off-topic is no badge of shame. It's simply an effort to keep information organized, not a condemnation of the topic's content.
2) Your topic asked about sources, which are themselves not historic arms or armour. Discussing weapons themselves is matter for the Historical Arms Talk forum; discussing "history books (or websites)" on a subject is a matter for the Off-Topic Talk forum. Your post, from its title to multiple requests in its text, was about books, websites, and sources. Topics like that will undoubtedly be moved to Off-Topic talk where discussions about books and related things happen all the time.

Any further discussion on this should be directed to me privately.