Featured Ancient ... but not a coin! Artifacts thread! Post 'em!

Discussion in 'Ancient Coins' started by lordmarcovan, Dec 25, 2017.

  1. Alegandron

    Alegandron "ΤΩΙ ΚΡΑΤΙΣΤΩΙ..." ΜΕΓΑΣ ΑΛΕΞΑΝΔΡΟΣ, June 323 BCE

    I has a face?
    :)
     
    Ryro likes this.
  2. Avatar

    Guest User Guest



    to hide this ad.
  3. Plumbata

    Plumbata Well-Known Member

    Here's an interesting piece I lucked upon a while ago. A rare late-Medieval German "Wurfkreuz", or "throwing cross", used as a short-distance projectile (like an armor-piercing throwing-star) or maybe a hand-to-hand melee weapon. Apparently Hungarians also sometimes deployed this weapon, and in their struggles against the Muslim Ottomans the symbolism of the cross would have been rather salient. They were used infrequently between the early 1400s-early 1600s and are rather rare today. It weighs about 495 grams, is 273mm long and 188mm wide, and has a simple bronze chevron/zig-zag inlay about 8.5-9.5cm above the bottom point. Purchased from a weapons collector in Germany who somehow didn't know what it was and listed it very inaccurately (his other medieval weapons were all properly advertised) and thus got it for 167.50 shipped, whereas it would go for closer to 1,000 if listed and described properly.

    DSCN5315.JPG DSCN5313.JPG

    And here's an old circa 1515 picture of the Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian I in fight with Count Albrecht von Zollern, depicting a wurfkreuz-wielding Zollern who with the one stuck in his shield has apparently been "double crossed" (Hyuk hyuk :D).
    wurf.jpg
     
  4. lordmarcovan

    lordmarcovan Eclectic & Eccentric Moderator

    Wow, that's neat. I didn't know there were any Western equivalents to the shuriken ("throwing star").
     
    Plumbata likes this.
  5. Makanudo

    Makanudo Well-Known Member

    Babylon plate. Probably tourist peace, but i like it!

    SAM_4998.JPG SAM_4999.JPG
     
  6. Ken Dorney

    Ken Dorney Yea, I'm Cool That Way...

    Yep. A fantasy piece, but if you like it...
     
  7. Sallent

    Sallent Live long and prosper

    The side with the figure is nice, but the reverse imitation cuneiform is an eyesore. Here's a real tablet from a museum containing a portion of the Epic of Gilgamesh.

    1280px-Tablet_V_of_the_Epic_of_Gilgamesh.jpg
     
  8. Makanudo

    Makanudo Well-Known Member

    I know Sallent... there are many nice things in museums of the west.
    There were also many wonderful things in the museum of Baghdad as well until it was looted by foreign forces.
    I like my piece. Even if it is only a sample of local folk art.
     
    7Calbrey likes this.
  9. SeptimusT

    SeptimusT Well-Known Member

    I recently bought some new Riker mounts to hang and display some of my artifacts, since things were getting cramped on my desk shelf and I hate to hide things in the closet. On the right are some of my Roman fibulae, while on the left are a variety of tools and pottery (along with part of a wolf tooth) from a rock shelter, dating between 500 - 1400 AD . At the bottom are a variety of quartz tools and preforms from another site, dating ~4,000 BC. The shells in the corners are from a Gulf Coast shell midden, ~1500 AD. I found all of the prehistoric pieces myself.

    Screen Shot 2019-07-12 at 7.33.40 PM.png
     
    ominus1, Alegandron, 7Calbrey and 5 others like this.
  10. Aunduril

    Aunduril Well-Known Member

    My most ancient piece

    upload_2019-7-12_20-34-7.png
     
  11. lordmarcovan

    lordmarcovan Eclectic & Eccentric Moderator

    Great projectile points and pottery. I've found a bit myself, but not that many.
     
    SeptimusT, Alegandron and 7Calbrey like this.
  12. 7Calbrey

    7Calbrey Well-Known Member

    This bronze medal represents Saint Christopher bearing child Jesus while crossing a river. There are green spots and heavy old sand accumulations suggesting it's ancient. It weighs 29.86 g., along with 5.5 cm of length and nearly 4 cm of width. The shape is rectangular. Can anyone please guess whether this medal is ancient or medieval ? Thank you. SaintChr O.JPG SaitCf R.JPG
     
  13. Plumbata

    Plumbata Well-Known Member

    Honestly the medal looks like it's from the 19th century, it's unusually large and attractive but unlikely to be very old in my opinion.
     
    7Calbrey likes this.
  14. Orange Julius

    Orange Julius Well-Known Member

    At one point, I was buying arrow and spear heads when I could find them cheaply... but I could never find much information to attribute them to certain time periods or cultures. Anyone know anything about any of these?

    Arrowheads.jpg
     
  15. ominus1

    ominus1 Well-Known Member

    ..i just watched a time team film and while it was because of the west's invasion, the looters were mid eastern...
     
    Alegandron and 7Calbrey like this.
  16. Alegandron

    Alegandron "ΤΩΙ ΚΡΑΤΙΣΤΩΙ..." ΜΕΓΑΣ ΑΛΕΞΑΝΔΡΟΣ, June 323 BCE

    I tell ya... sumpin’ about those theivin’ folks from Virginia and Carolina...

    :)
     
    ominus1 likes this.
  17. Plumbata

    Plumbata Well-Known Member

    I've done the same, with the arrowheads being rather more affordable relative to spearheads etc. in the high school days of the early 2000s when money was a bit more scarce. I've made modest efforts to identify the arrowheads and it seems that the tanged pieces cluster toward eastern European origin Hunnic or Mongolian points launched during their western forays, with the socketed examples being more distinctly European and spread from Spain to Russia. I'd like to see a good analysis as I've been curious for a long time.
     
    Orange Julius likes this.
  18. Ken Dorney

    Ken Dorney Yea, I'm Cool That Way...

    Stevearino and Orange Julius like this.
  19. ominus1

    ominus1 Well-Known Member

    ><
     
    Alegandron likes this.
  20. Orange Julius

    Orange Julius Well-Known Member

  21. lordmarcovan

    lordmarcovan Eclectic & Eccentric Moderator

    I'd say it is neither ancient nor medieval. Dug, sure, but I've found similar (though not identical) religious medals while detecting. I'd guess that one's from the 18th, or more likely, the 19th century. So old, but not that old.
     
    Stevearino and 7Calbrey like this.
Draft saved Draft deleted

Share This Page