[Dave Leppo]

Sword w/ scabbard from the Aluminum period:

This artifact was found partially washed out of a sediment bank of the Vilyui River in central Russia, in excellent condition for its age. It is believed to be an arming sword of the little-known Aluminum period of medieval history. Apparently around the time of the Viking age in Europe, there was a small culture of rather diminutive warriors living or obtaining natural resources from this area.
The blade of the sword is forged from elemental aluminum, the extraction from ore of which was not developed until the dawn of the nineteenth century. This area of Russia is one of the few known places where aluminum occurs in a natural metallic state, apparently due to the volcanic origins of the terrain.

The blade is 410mm long, 25mm wide and 6mm thick, with parallel edges and no distal taper, with a rounded tip. The blade is not sharp, having full-round radii rather than tapered edges. (Speculation that it was for ceremonial use rather than battle, but this does not fit other finds, or the overall history of this culture) there is a square-bottomed fuller running full-length, colored with paint similar to that used on the hilt. The fittings are made of wood with multiple layers of filler and paint; the guard flat, about 7mm thick, 100mm long. The pommel is a near-perfect 25mm ball which is threaded onto the tang, a very early example of this type of construction. The grip is 100mm long, constructed of multiple layers of twine wrapped directly onto the tang and dyed with paint of the same origin as that on the fittings. Despite the grip length this is a two-handed sword of war; the warriors of this race were rather small by all measures. The scabbard is of painted wood, of a glued clam-shell structure (strikingly similar to modern commercial crown molding glued face to face).

Why you never heard of the Aluminum culture:
Despite technical advances such as mining and working metallic aluminum, using threaded fastening systems, and developing paint and adhesives based on the refinement of naturally occurring petroleum (the binders for the paint on this artifact), the Aluminum Empire fell almost as quickly as it rose. Very little artifacts have been found, scattered across central Russia - until this find only small fragments of weapons and utensils. This artifact was preserved in a coating of bitumen, deposited in fine sand / silt. During this turbulent time, brawn typically won over brains, and the size of this race was quite diminutive. They stood little chance of any sort of supremacy over Vikings, ancient Mongolians, or the like. Also, they had no wealth to ransom themselves (Aluminum was not valued any more than technical knowledge). Hence they were quickly wiped out; one of history’s first apparent cases of genocide.

photos to come...

[Dan Howard]

Should have posted this on April 1st.

[Thomas R.]

Yeah, and I happen to have found yesterday the petrified bones of a happy troll in my backyard... Photos to come.

[Luke Zechman]

Heh thats funny I found the petrified bones of a troll clutching onto the hilt of an aluminum sword. Go figure.

[Jean Thibodeau]

And then there is the Uranium sword culture that died out due to high rates of male sterility from having their scabbarded Uranium swords a little too close to their " junk ".

Oh, and also they couldn't sneak up on enemies at night because they tended to glow in the dark. The invention of the Uranium breastplate just accelerated their decline as a civilization.

[Scott Hrouda]

Predating all of the above mentioned cultures was the "Rock Culture". Their weapons were extensively discussed in the Rocks and Michael B's Analysis of Their Proper Use thread.

To my knowledge Craig Peters has not published his "Peters' Rock Typology" as of yet. Many years of careful, and occasionally painful, research will be required before any conclusive typology could be published.

[Michael MacLeod]

Too bad they were wiped out before they could make the aluminum swords translucent.

[Dave Leppo]

sorry for the delay, I had to pay the bills:

[Dave Leppo]

living history demo:

[Dave Leppo]

[Jean Thibodeau]

[Dave Leppo]

This was one of my son’s presents for his third birthday. He’s more interested in trains, trucks, earthmovers, and lately dinosaurs than swords right now, but who doesn’t enjoy chopping weeds in the back yard with their new toys?

[Scott S.]

Great pictures, he's a handsome young man. Happy Birthday to him!

I would have been thrilled with a present like that as well, however I hope you take the time to show him Oakeshott's typology and explain to him exactly how his sword departs from historic precedent. (This would be a good time to tell him about the importance of distal taper and point of balance as well.) Also a short presentation of period art depicting similar swords might help him understand the timeframe involved, and where it fits in with regards to the evolution of the sword as a weapon. Then maybe give him a popsicle or something.

[Matthew Stagmer]

Bet my nephew could take him!

[Scott Hrouda]

Amazing period artwork! The images are so lifelike you feel as if you are actually there. The leggings are cut short, I assume to assist with cooling the body in a warmer climate period. Notice the legging pattern, I can’t tell if this is an early attempt at camouflage, or a discoloration of the artifact. The footwear is a type that I am completely unfamiliar with in period artwork. The short-sleeved tunic has a pattern on the front, is this an early example of heraldry?

From the pose with weapon raised above the head, these were obviously a war like people. It is sad that we do not know more about these diminutive warriors.



















Your son is very lucky to have such a cool and talented dad!

[Jeremy V. Krause]

[quote="Jean Thibodeau"]

[Scott Hrouda]

[Jean-Carle Hudon]

It's a well known fact that the prevalence of aluminium in that culture, from weapons to cooking utensils and under-arm deodorant led to universal Alzheimer's disease, so genocide was not needed as it became the Culture Which Forgot About Itself, and all the neighbouring cultures agreed that this was best for all, hence the time honoured expression : Forget About It.
This in turn explains why XXth century man saw no problem in going back to aluminium alloys to make all sorts of useful household appliances, pots & pans, and under arm deodorant ...

[Jonathan Blair]

[Scott S.]