[Jeremy Eskin]

Hey all, I am looking for info about the large vimose seax. Where it was found, and any other info would be helpful. I really love this blade.

Thanks!

[C.L. Miller]

Assuming that you are referring to a weapon of the type pictured below, it should first be stated that seax/sax is actually a fairly broad term, and some may prefer to consider these blades from the Vimose bog to be proto-saxes. Certainly, they are of a somewhat different design than those dated to the late migration period. Oakeshott in his Archaeology of Weapons believes the sax to have been descended "directly from the ancient Greek kopis," but this is not universally accepted.
As the illustration below shows, there is not a single artifact known as the "Vimose Seax" but rather a number of similarly styled single edged weapons found, in company with a great number of other weapons, in a Danish bog where they had been intentionally deposited. The dates of the objects found cover a broad range, with the majority thought to have been deposited between the 3rd and 5th Centuries.
These saxes or proto-saxes differ from the later weapons of this type primarily in the construction of the hilt. In the Vimose blades, the hilt is a continuation of the blade's curved back, not unlike that of a kopis or a falcata. The hilt on all of those found also differ from later saxes in that they are of sandwich construction. Organic components would have been held in place with rivets on either side of the hilt to form a grip, sandwiching the iron between them. On most later saxes a sword-like tang emerges from the center of the blade and would have been completely enclosed by an organic grip.
The blade itself, while arcing both its back and its edge towards the point, remains relatively straight and does not curve or bulge outwards towards its intended target in the manner of its likely relatives.

From Jeroen's excellent archive of museum photos:





And here's an illustration of similar blades from the same find:
[/u]

[Wolfgang Armbruster]

I wonder how Okeshott came to the conclusion that the two weapons are related. I don't know of any direct contact between these two cultures prior to the people's wandering era.
Can someone tell what led Okeshott to this conclusion?

[Sam Barris]

Hellenic traders made stops all over the Mediterranean, including the Iberian Peninsula. Other trading routes could have taken it from there.

I think that, in general, our ancestors got around quite a bit more than we give them credit for.

[Jeremy Eskin]

Thanks for those awesome pics. Yes those are the weapons I ment by "vimose seax" I wonder what is known about the metalurgy on the weapons. Do you guys think that these were very common or purhapse weapons for the rich? Either way these "knives" look deadly.