The Way of the Sword

This lecture explores how we can move beyond long-standing images of heroic warriors and shiny weaponry to understand the truth of Bronze Age combat. Drawing on the Bronze Age Combat Project, an interdisciplinary initiative led by Newcastle University, it presents new evidence derived from large-scale experimental trials using replica swords, spears, and shields, combined with the use-wear analysis of British and Italian Bronze Age weapons.

Attendees will learn how microscopic traces on ancient weapons reveal patterns of movement, skill, and technique, offering a rare insight into the embodied realities of combat. Rather than focusing on ancient textual sources such as Homer’s Iliad, the lecture reconstructs how weapons were handled, how blows were delivered and deflected, and what this tells us about weapon training and experience in Bronze Age Britain and continental Europe.

This talk will appeal to anyone interested in archaeology, history, or martial practice, offering a compelling example of how scientific methods can transform our understanding of the past. It also connects directly to the collections of the Royal Armouries, inviting audiences to see prehistoric and historic weapons not as static objects, but as tools shaped by use, skill, and human action.