NationStates Jolt Archive

Kinda an odd question, but does anyone out there know anything about bizzare ancient weapons. Google was actually no help for once.

Pretty much any ancient weapons besides the standard swords, spears, arrows, daggers, etc. Oh, and no theoretical ancient high tech weapons like A-bombs.

My deepest thanks, and feel free to stop by the Free Land of Moantha anytime.

Anything they used in Australia. But strange coming from Australia seems to be par.

There is alway Greek fire.

mace: large wooden club with metal spikes on the end of it

dirk -- a type of dagger (i just love the name.. lol.. dirk

Turtle ships.

Anything they used in Australia. But strange coming from Australia seems to be par.

There is alway Greek fire.

fyi, i think that Greek fire was a compound that would be hurled at opponents and their stuff... it could not be put out by water... the stuff would remain engulfed in flames despite the best efforts of Harald Bluetooth's Fire Brigade. talk about a medieval mind-f*ck!

Greek fire is always a good one. Maybe it would be more helpful if you explained what you're looking for exactly. Are you talking about melee-weapons, missile weapons, siege-weapons, cavalry-weapons?

Turtle ships.

That takes the cake. Yi sun-shin knew his shit.

Some a bit less known weapons:

Katar
Macautl (sp?)
Bola
Trident
Cestus
Lucerne Hammer

What constitues "bizzare"?

Turtle ships.


I googled, turtle ships, and they do look interesting, but I was thinking more along the lines of hand-to-hand combat.

Anything they used in Australia. But strange coming from Australia seems to be par.

There is alway Greek fire.

Could you be a little more specific?

There's always the filipino yo-yo warriors...

Kinda an odd question, but does anyone out there know anything about bizzare ancient weapons. Google was actually no help for once.

Pretty much any ancient weapons besides the standard swords, spears, arrows, daggers, etc. Oh, and no theoretical ancient high tech weapons like A-bombs.

My deepest thanks, and feel free to stop by the Free Land of Moantha anytime.
Kukri's
Chakras (Think of the throwing ring that Xena used)
Shirikens,
Nunchakus
Would Punching Daggers be acceptable?
Sai's
Weighted Chains
Spiked Sheilds
Scythes
Sickles
Staff Flails
Disease (by hurling dead bodies into towns, they would spread diseease among the populace.)

flaming mice... (yes, I read an account where to combat Elephants, some Generals ordered mice to be delivered (via slings and catapults) to the enemy... when nothing happened, they throught that the men were killing the mice before they could scare the Elephants (and not that the impact was killing them) so resorted to setting them afire to keep the men back while the mice scared the Elephants.... needless to say... they lost.)

There's always the filipino yo-yo warriors...

**ancient dude**

"Oh no, they're talking street!!":eek:

**ancient dude**

"Oh no, they're talking street!!":eek:

He means it literally. The ancient Filipino warriors used yo-yo like weapons in combat.

Define bizzare.

The Chinese and the Japanese had all kinds of oddly shaped blades (like these (http://store1.yimg.com/I/martialartsmart_1872_4874505) Yuen Yang Razors or deer antler knives (http://store1.yimg.com/I/martialartsmart_1872_5336946)), as well as iron fans, rope darts, three section staves and nine section chains.

The Celts used a few: the tathlum (an enemies' brain caked in three or four layers of lime and then thrown at a member of their family) is a case in point. Then there's the gae bolga (a barbed spear which couldn't be pulled out of a wound)...

How about the Atl-Atl? It's making a comeback I hear.

Kusari Gama's are some pretty weird looking weapons.

My advice if you want references on obscure weapons, go on a few MUD's and ask the players on there if there're any weapons on the game that they've never heard of before.

Wiki or google em, and you'll prolly find they're some damn weird, obscure/wonderful kinda weapon.

There was also a staff that henry the Eighth carried that actually had a weapon included in it.

They recently (ish) discovered evidence of a four pronged dagger used by Roman Gladiators which seems to qualify as both bizzarre and ancient.
http://www.romanarmy.nl/rat/viewtopic.php?t=4681

Maybe someone can locate a photo gallery online of the weapons in the Chicago Art Museum.. I know I saw some crazy stuff there..

Much thanks to everyone. Does anybody know any specifically used for assassinations?

There's poison darts, I know...

And I'm using bizzare as not widely known, sensationalized.

Not what you usually think of when you think ancient weapons.

The Celts used a few: the tathlum (an enemies' brain caked in three or four layers of lime and then thrown at a member of their family) is a case in point. Then there's the gae bolga (a barbed spear which couldn't be pulled out of a wound)...


NOt sure if you're right here: as far as I know, the Gae Bolg was the barbed spear used by Cuchullain(sp?) which couldn't be removed without ripping the flesh to shreds. I'm not sure if it was just a one-of-a-kind spear or that there were lots of them...


Apart from that: other bizarre weapons include the falcata, the bearclaw, caltraps, priests (more to protect your feet against caltraps) etc.

If you want to know more about ancient bizarre torturemethodes, just lemme know.

Kinda an odd question, but does anyone out there know anything about bizzare ancient weapons. Google was actually no help for once.

Pretty much any ancient weapons besides the standard swords, spears, arrows, daggers, etc. Oh, and no theoretical ancient high tech weapons like A-bombs.
You mean like glaves and halbreds and battleaxes and such?

Try searching on superweapons ancient world. Or just "Archimedes" You'll find a lot on him alone. Plus the Discovery Channel is running a show on Superweapons of the ancient world this month. You may want to catch that one. I saw it last week. Pretty intreresting actually.

priests (more to protect your feet against caltraps) etc.


They save your soles

Though one of my favorite weapons is the "Duck Foot"

http://blindkat.hegewisch.net/pirates/dfvolley2.jpg

NOt sure if you're right here: as far as I know, the Gae Bolg was the barbed spear used by Cuchullain(sp?) which couldn't be removed without ripping the flesh to shreds. I'm not sure if it was just a one-of-a-kind spear or that there were lots of them...


Apart from that: other bizarre weapons include the falcata, the bearclaw, caltraps, priests (more to protect your feet against caltraps) etc.

If you want to know more about ancient bizarre torturemethodes, just lemme know.
It was the name applied to Cu Chulain's spear, you're right, but there are accounts of other barbed spears being used (Finn used one as well), and a few have been dug up. It seems to have been rather similar to the Japanese spear with a long blade and a short haft (naginata?), except that both edges were serrated with backwards pointing barbs.

flamethrower
It was basicly a hollow tube attached to a container full of a flammable liquid. A hand-operated push-pump sprayed the liquid out. At the business end was a candle that, obviously, transformed it from a freaky water gun into a flamethrower.

This is a commercial site, but they have some pretty good weapons photos:

http://www.mwart.com/xq/ASP.store/cat.36/qx/other-weapons.htm

Kukri's
Chakras (Think of the throwing ring that Xena used)
Shirikens,
Nunchakus
Would Punching Daggers be acceptable?
Sai's
Weighted Chains
Spiked Sheilds
Scythes
Sickles
Staff Flails
Disease (by hurling dead bodies into towns, they would spread diseease among the populace.)

flaming mice... (yes, I read an account where to combat Elephants, some Generals ordered mice to be delivered (via slings and catapults) to the enemy... when nothing happened, they throught that the men were killing the mice before they could scare the Elephants (and not that the impact was killing them) so resorted to setting them afire to keep the men back while the mice scared the Elephants.... needless to say... they lost.)

The Chakra is a complete fantasy--it was created specifically for the show.

The Chakra represents sacred popints of energy on the body--there is no weapon called a 'Chakra'.
Sythes and Sickles are essentially the same weapon one is just larger then the other.

Nunchaku come from the Muge(an Okinawan Horse bridal), this was a poor mans weapon. Other sources relate it to the utzu(rice flail), or the Kubodo weapons family.

The flaming mice is tripe--mice only frighten elephants in cartoons.

Shuriken, " shu" "ri" "ken" = "hand hidden blade"---
shiriken is an error which occered in the 15th century Japan during the period of warring States. The mistake was made as people confused the Shuriken(hand hidden blade) for the shiriken (rear end blade) which was the Kozuka(the small blade hidden on the scabbard of a large sword, properly thrown by the blade--meaning the rear of the weapon was pointing out in the warriors grip)---

bo shuriken are thrown spikes, and shaken are flate steel plates which further breakdown to hira shuriken the classical 'chinese star' we all know and love, and the senban shuriken these are more knives which have an oblong blade shape--think circus throwing knife.


The chinese 'lohan tsin' is throwing a sharpened coin---hiding weapons in plain sight.


I had a native American bludgeon from a Great lakes tribe made of Deer antlers--which wasnt that impressive(though i wouldnt want to get hit with it) the truly impressive one was a staff(really a long club/war club) with Deer hooves on both ends angled in opposite directions the hoof of a deer is extremely and naturally sharp--the club very heavy on the ends but finely balanced---I would honestly say a single blow to the head would kill any man, and very likely to the chest as well.

Lemme think here...

I think it was egyptians that used the kopesh, a weird sword that had a blade that was partially straight and then shaped much like a sickle.

Aztecs and other central american peoples used a weapon a macca or maccan or something like that; basically a heavy flattened club (not very unlike a cricket bat in shape but, heavier) with multiple pieces of flat, sharpened stone (obsidian, IIRC) set into each of the narrow sides (sort of a cross between a club and a sword).

Numerous different peoples have used blowguns as weapons (africans, australians, native americans, and probably a few more), often with some type of poison on the darts but some really big blowguns can actually launch darts the size of small arrows.

Another "tribal" weapon is a spear thrower, a long halfpipe type device that you set a spear into and swing to give extra leverage (and the associated increased range and force) to the throw. These work much on the same principle as whatever the things are called that are used to play jai alai.

If I can think of any more I'll let you know.

Lemme think here...


Another "tribal" weapon is a spear thrower, a long halfpipe type device that you set a spear into and swing to give extra leverage (and the associated increased range and force) to the throw. These work much on the same principle as whatever the things are called that are used to play jai alai.
IIRC, the spear thrower is the same as the Atl-Atl.

Actually, according to Wikipedia there was a thrown metal disk called the chakram

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chakram

The Chakra is a complete fantasy--it was created specifically for the show.

The Chakra represents sacred popints of energy on the body--there is no weapon called a 'Chakra'.
Sythes and Sickles are essentially the same weapon one is just larger then the other.

The Chakram on the other hand was a weapon used by the Sikhs of north west India. It looks exactly like that used by Xena but was thrown by spinning around the finger as well as conventionally.

Actually, according to Wikipedia there was a thrown metal disk called the chakram

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chakram
Ooh! Great minds and all that ...

I thought nunchukus were invented in the twentieth century for teh ninja movies.

ball-and-chains are freaky. I mean, who came up with the idea of tying a spikey ball to a stick? Between that and the flamethrower, I'm glad I'm not one of those freaky inventors. There's this joke I know. It goes like this:

Who came up with the idea for the flamethrower? Did somebody think "I want to light someone on fire, but I'm not clase enough to get the job done."?

The shuriken has always been one of my favorites.

I think that Greek fire was the earliest version of napalm. It was discovered by the Byzantines who launched it off their ships in huge, massive blobs of burning ginormous shit.

I'm not sure about the Byzantines, but I'm pretty sure that it was originally a naval weapon. And what exactly is an MUD?

I thought nunchukus were invented in the twentieth century for teh ninja movies.
They were rice flails originaly, I believe: for beating the rice grains out of the plant rather than having to pick the things out by hand.

The Chakra is a complete fantasy--it was created specifically for the show.

The Chakra represents sacred popints of energy on the body--there is no weapon called a 'Chakra'.

Wrong... like everyone already said. -.-

Right. But I don't think they were ever used by ninjas. Except that one time when all the ninjas were united against the evil rice monster of doom. But that doesn't count. :D

They were rice flails originaly, I believe: for beating the rice grains out of the plant rather than having to pick the things out by hand.

Nunchukus and three-section staves are varieties of flails.

Right. But I don't think they were ever used by ninjas. Except that one time when all the ninjas were united against the evil rice monster of doom. But that doesn't count. :D
One story I've heard is that at some point it was forbidden for anybody who wasn't of the Samurai class to bear weaponry, so dissentors took to adopting agricultural implements to break people's heads open.
Frankly, I prefer the rice monster story...

Shuriken.

The man-catcher comes to mind. So does the arquebus. There are all sorts of different polearms. Go to books-a-million and look through the AD&D Weapons and Warfare book.

The shuriken has always been one of my favorites.
I was always concerned that pitching shuriken at most adrenalin-pumped combatants would succeed in doing little more than pissing them off. Heh!

Kinda like shooting at a drug-crazed attacker with a .22! :D

Samson killed a thousand men with the jawbone of an ass. I've only managed to annoy a thousand with mine.

Samson killed a thousand men with the jawbone of an ass. I've only managed to annoy a thousand with mine.
Ahem! Yes, well ... moving right along! :D

The romans, who were great soldiers, but not necessarily good sailors, used a device called the CORVUS. It was basically a long gang plank with a huge spike on one end. It was attached to the roman ships deck on a pivot with the far end held high by a winch. When they cam close to a Carthaginian or pirate ship, they would drop the corvus on their deck...damaging the ship obviously...but the huge spike would also imbed itself in the enemy ship acting as a grappling hook. The roman marines would then storm across the gang-plank and take the other ship.

Basically the corvus allowed them to fight at sea like they would on land.

Bohemian Ear-Spoon.

I win the thread. Not even the Man-Catcher or the Hook-Fauchard can top that.

The Chakra is a complete fantasy--it was created specifically for the show.



That's because the weapon is called a chakram

even though I hate to use it, here is a link:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chakram

Bohemian Ear-Spoon.

I win the thread. Not even the Man-Catcher or the Hook-Fauchard can top that.
Festering, pustulant dead things. Lobbing a few at an enemy was usually good for killing off a city.

Stew was also another good one. (Place stew in a sealed earthenware jug with a handfull of dirt - releive pressure occasionally. After a few weeks, pour into a well. Botulisim is your friend....) :eek:

Greek fire and capapults
and this http://www.math.nyu.edu/~crorres/Archimedes/Mirrors/Tzetzes.html
it could actually happen they proved it.

Bohemian Ear-Spoon.

I win the thread. Not even the Man-Catcher or the Hook-Fauchard can top that.

Bohemian Ear-Spork.

I believe the thread is now mine.

Greek fire and capapults
and this http://www.math.nyu.edu/~crorres/Archimedes/Mirrors/Tzetzes.html
it could actually happen they proved it.
Mythbusters proved it was bunk.

Actually, according to Wikipedia there was a thrown metal disk called the chakram

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chakram

Damn. I was going to butt in and ask how it had appeared in the 1st Edition Tunnels & Trolls rules (published 1975) if it had only been invented for the TV show.

:D Bohemian Ear-Spork.

I believe the thread is now mine.

Yes, but oddly enough, the Bohemian Ear-Spoon actually existed.

Just to make things a little clearer, these are for an idea I had for a story which is essentially as follows. Sometime in the future, on a different planet, terra-formed by humanity, a group of assassins is using ancient weapons reasoning that although bullets, (I'm staying away from weaponized lasers) can be traced to the gun, it would be a lot harder to trace arrows to the bow, and melee weapons would be just about impossible to trace.

So siege weapons and naval boarding devices are out. I like the caltraps though. Especially if they're tipped with Bloat. [1]

Er... I mean poison. :D


[1] kudos to anyone who gets the reference.

Yes, but oddly enough, the Bohemian Ear-Spoon actually existed.

This is not news to me, it will forever be part of that list along with bec de corbin, holy-water sprinklers, partisans and the like.

Turtle ships.
Yay turtles! I like playing Korea on Age of Kings for them.

<snip Sometime in the future, on a different planet, terra-formed by humanity, a group of assassins is using ancient weapons reasoning that although bullets, (I'm staying away from weaponized lasers) can be traced to the gun, it would be a lot harder to trace arrows to the bow, and melee weapons would be just about impossible to trace.

Um... Today's real Professionals (on Earth) use firearms only as a last resort as it is. Almost anything is better for assasination than shooting someone... unless you live in DC, NYC, LA, or Gary/Chicago.

A Suicide Note, Alcohol and Defenestration is near the top of the list...

Botulisim is your friend.

Ricin is Nice.

Prussic Acid inhalers work wonders.

A $0.15 squib in the petrol tank rigged to the left turn signal (Right in UK/Oz/HK/Japan) makes for an interesting day...

Why am I telling you this?.... :headbang:

I was always concerned that pitching shuriken at most adrenalin-pumped combatants would succeed in doing little more than pissing them off. Heh!

Kinda like shooting at a drug-crazed attacker with a .22! :D

I imagine a .22 bullet in your esophagus would effectively kill you as badly as a .357 in the braincase. Its just less messier, although harder to use properly since you have less areas to hit for a guranteed kill.

Mythbusters proved it was bunk.

Actually, from the looks of things, the Mythbusters couldn't even set the thing on fire even if they had a flamethrower. I read up on a site where this guy made his own solar deathray on a smaller scale and apparently it worked quite well. He says that looking at the mythbuster setup, they were too shoddy with their work, and the array didn't focus the light on a small enough area.

And for proof, I present to you, a lego ship as a sacrificial test lamb. =p

http://www.solardeathray.com/ship.html

the romans had a sword used by the myrmidons(i think) that curved at an angle near the end. it created wounds that cut deeper and bled more.

also, the chinese made pungee pits and covered the spikes with human waste. people ran into the pit, hit the spikes, and if they came out of it alive they would get a possibly deadly infection.

I believe the weapon of choice in the ancient times was "Chuck Norris".

I think.

I imagine a .22 bullet in your esophagus would effectively kill you as badly as a .357 in the braincase. Its just less messier, although harder to use properly since you have less areas to hit for a guranteed kill.
OT: Not necessarily and probably not. I met a guy who took a .38 to the throat. Missed everything vital and he won.

A .22 is more likely to miss everything vital. Invert your scenerio and it comes closer to the truth, but .22s are really not much good for anything but prolonged surgery (looking for the dammed tiny piece of metal that bounced around...)

The only place(s) a .22 can "guarantee" a kill is #1 - Heart, #2 - Kidney (if hospital ismore than 5 min away), #3 Head (at close, controlled range), #4 Brachial, Corotid or Femoral Arteries.

So, shoot 'em in the arm-pit, skull & neck. You have plenty of bullets in a .22...

Trojan horse.

Plain and simple.

Ark of the Covenant

A Box that would shoot Holy Fire and consume the Enemies of I AM.... (or Nazis anyway...) :eek:

Didn't Archimedes build some giant claw that could lift entire roman trireme ships out of the water, during the defence of Syracuse?

Well, being as I play Tahuantinsuyu (the Inka Empire) in Nationstates I feel obliged to mention the reputed adoption by these people of a two-handed sword... made of hardwood.

Well, it'd take a fellow out of the saddle if it struck him, I'm sure you'll agree! And once grounded without horse or arquebus, a Spaniard would be suddenly at a disadvantage against your typical Andean warrior.

Metal-schmetal!

Other than that, I'm inclined to think of a half-remembered account of a city's siege in ancient China, I can not remember where or in which period, in which, one night, the defenders resolved to take a great gamble. They, reputedly, tied flaming rags to the horns and/or tails of their cattle and sent them out through the gates and into the encamped enemy. Seeing thousands of animals storming through the night towards them with horns of fire, well, the attackers apparently up and ran.

Of course, it is late and I could be referencing some odd fantasy or misrepresenting the facts, but it seems to me a rather good idea, in a desperate situation!

You know, I wonder how many people on this thread play DnD. Judging from a number of contributions, I'd suspect quite a few.

And the Bohemian Ear-Spoon still rules. It's nothing more than a spear, but its got the most awesome name ever.

I'm not sure about the Byzantines, but I'm pretty sure that it was originally a naval weapon. And what exactly is an MUD?

A MUD is a multi-user-demension. it is usually a game known for its immerse gamplay and roleplaying, but alas, no graphics.

Yay turtles! I like playing Korea on Age of Kings for them.

Hehe, I remember playing England in the create-your-own-map
-mode. I totally kicked korea's arse.

You know, I wonder how many people on this thread play DnD. Judging from a number of contributions, I'd suspect quite a few.


On the interweb, you have to have at least half an idea how D&D works or you miss half the jokes.

Hehe, I remember playing England in the create-your-own-map
-mode. I totally kicked korea's arse.

From my experience of AoE II, with enough longbowmen, England could kick anyone arse.

I always thought the gastraphetes was a pretty obscure ancient weapon. At the time it came about, it was great, but more specialized weapons, like ballistas and crossbows, took its place.

Speaking of which, the chu-ko-nu, aka the Manchurian repeating crossbow, is pretty bizarre too.

Don't forget the falcata, my current favorite CQC weapon! Those things are awesome. Cut through the horse and rider in one swing! :)

Maybe that's an exaggeration.

From my experience of AoE II, with enough longbowmen, England could kick anyone arse.

what was cool is that you create like 15 vicars, then go to WW2 mode, and get other countrys troups on your side with that spell of thiers.

...Cestus...


My cestus-es are the bestestes :p

The shuriken has always been one of my favorites.

I think that Greek fire was the earliest version of napalm. It was discovered by the Byzantines who launched it off their ships in huge, massive blobs of burning ginormous shit.


Just light some sodium on fire and throw it at someone. Anyone who throws water on it is going to have some serrious problems.

Roman Repeating Ballista
Greek Steamcannon
Persian Flamethrower

Monkeys.

Sailors would often dunk a monkey in oil, light it on fire...and hurl it into another ships rigging.

Skiltrane.



Yo-Yo
Diablo

Wikipedia doesn't have anything on a skiltrane. what is it exactly?

Kinda an odd question, but does anyone out there know anything about bizzare ancient weapons. Google was actually no help for once.

Pretty much any ancient weapons besides the standard swords, spears, arrows, daggers, etc. Oh, and no theoretical ancient high tech weapons like A-bombs.

My deepest thanks, and feel free to stop by the Free Land of Moantha anytime.
There's a description of a type of curved knife/knuckleduster device in Draeger's "Weapons and Fighting Arts of Indonesia" which, according to him, is very obscure and the art of using it is lost to the ages. It's associated with a specific style of Pentjak Silat on one particular Island of Indonesia.

Personally, judging by the hand-drawn illustration, I could see how it could be used as a slashing weapon on one stroke and a punching weapon on the backhand, but it does look a bit awkward.

the romans had a sword used by the myrmidons(i think) that curved at an angle near the end. it created wounds that cut deeper and bled more.

also, the chinese made pungee pits and covered the spikes with human waste. people ran into the pit, hit the spikes, and if they came out of it alive they would get a possibly deadly infection.
Some Indonesian tribes would lace a trail with spikes made from a type of bamboo or rattan that would leave tiny strands of plant material in the wound when removed. It promoted rapid infection of the wound.

Does it have a name?

Didn't Archimedes build some giant claw that could lift entire roman trireme ships out of the water, during the defence of Syracuse?
Isn't he also credited with building a convex mirror that could set a ship's rigging on fire? Sicilian ingenuity at it's finest.

Isn't he also credited with building a convex mirror that could set a ship's rigging on fire? Sicilian ingenuity at it's finest.


yes, although there's some debate to whether that actually is possible. Some guy managed it on a smaller scale with a lego ship, but the Mythbusters couldn't do it.

Does it have a name?
Does what have a name? It's a big thread and there is no way to know who you're talking to.

That's because the weapon is called a chakram

even though I hate to use it, here is a link:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chakram
thanks, I was going by memory.

The flaming mice is tripe--mice only frighten elephants in cartoons.
well, he only asked for Bizzare Weapons... not SUCCESSFUL Bizzare Weapons. I did state that the Flaming mice didn't work.

Does what have a name? It's a big thread and there is no way to know who you're talking to.

The knife knuckle-duster you mentioned earlier.

The knife knuckle-duster you mentioned earlier.
Yeah, but I don't have the book in front of me.

yes, although there's some debate to whether that actually is possible. Some guy managed it on a smaller scale with a lego ship, but the Mythbusters couldn't do it.

They couldn't light the boat on fire after drenching it in gasoline and hurling a Molotov, somehow I doubt the validity of that experiment.

Okay, so I guess it falls under the category of not sufficently proved or disproved. Oh, and Drunk Commies Deleted, if you happen to pick up the book anytime soon and see the name I'd be grateful.

Okay, so I guess it falls under the category of not sufficently proved or disproved. Oh, and Drunk Commies Deleted, if you happen to pick up the book anytime soon and see the name I'd be grateful.
I have the book at home. I'm at work right now. If I remember I'll post it on Tuesday.

They couldn't light the boat on fire after drenching it in gasoline and hurling a Molotov, somehow I doubt the validity of that experiment.

On that note I think a bunch of students from harvard or something tried it. They managed to set wood of a similar thickness to that of the hulls for ancient triremes on fire. Apparently Mythbusters didn't have it focussed enough or didn't use enough mirrors. I can't remember the link, but it was on Fark a month or two ago if anyone wants to go looking.

To answer my own question, in case anyone else is interested, there's a Japanese weapon called a Jitte or Jutte, that was designed to catch and snap off an enemies sword blade.

The knife knuckle-duster you mentioned earlier.
That'd probably be a katar.

Roman Repeating Ballista

Heleopolis. Never been replicated, so its existence is questionable.

I was always concerned that pitching shuriken at most adrenalin-pumped combatants would succeed in doing little more than pissing them off. Heh!

Kinda like shooting at a drug-crazed attacker with a .22! :D

Normally a shuriken would be used to distract an unarmed, or unaware opponent.

Drugs or no drugs, using a .22 on a crazed opponent in a good way to get beaten to death with your own gun.

Found a couple more.

Manriki

Naginata

Fukiya*

I should probably note that the Wikipedia article on this is disputed, but mostly over one of the poisons.

http://www.geticagame.com/images/art/falx.jpg

The Dacian Falx. Sexy isn't it?

http://www.page-five.de/TENSHU/n2.jpg

The Naginata is also very sexy.

I'm also a big fan of the Falcata...
http://swordforum.com/swd/dt/dt-falcata-largesand.jpg

...And the Kukri.

http://jodysamson.com/images/knives/2-20-05/kukri-1.jpg

They couldn't light the boat on fire after drenching it in gasoline and hurling a Molotov, somehow I doubt the validity of that experiment.

They also used a ballistic shield for protection during their more explosive tests and later found out that it really wasn't that protective, even though one of the guys on the show recommended it.

But on the boat topic, yeah, they tried the old method of fire arrows first, and molotovs next. The Mythbusters would have failed at arson 101 it seems. :p

I understand that in pre-Colombian South and Central America, obsidian club/swords were used (maquahuitl), but I'm having difficulty googling up a reputable non-RPG or wiki site for them. They were basically a nightstick with obsidian blade inserts.

Here's a pic from a Spanish site:

http://www.mexico-france.com/images/codices/neza.jpg

Some Pacific island cultures are supposed to have used shark teeth for a similar weapon.

http://www.page-five.de/TENSHU/n2.jpg

The Naginata is also very sexy.


Yes indeed. However, it's *mostly* practiced by little old ladies now. (At least my class was all grannies.)

Nagamaki (longer bladed naginata) are cool too.

I recommend you google ancient Indian and Mauyran weapons. They have some truly unique designs.
Also look up ancient North African weapons, all sorts of oddities there.

Finally, I know china has been mentioned, but there is one specific weapon which facinated me for a while from ancient china.
The weapon was definately in use during the rise and chinese-conquest of Qin shi huangdi (china's first emporer in it's current form), beyond this I'm not sure. They excavated hundreds of terracotta soldiers armed with them near qin's tomb (mt. Li).

Basically they blend the features of an axe, halberd and a dagger. To describe, it comes in two sizes; 1 is almost a metre and a half long, the other about 2 metres long. It is a pole-arm(a pole with something on the end). the head of the weapon features a blade about the shape and length of a dagger protruding at about 120 degree angle from the pole pointing upwards. Some versions also have a small spike opposite the blade, and at the tip of the pole, this is particularly true of the longer types.

The weapons functionality is basically that of a can opener, as it combines all of the force and momentum generated by a swing using the leverage of the extended pole, then delivers it to a very small area by connecting with the 'dagger' point. It was essentially designed to peice armour of any type.

As far as the name, I had a great amount of difficulty finding it, the weapon itself is easy to come by in research, just not an officila name. The only name I found was in an old encyclopedia, which labelled it as a 'dagger-axe'.

Hope that may be of some help.

Sounds very interesting.

'dagger axe'

The romanization has it as 'ko' although my computer can't see the chinese characters.

And there's always the japanese recipe for eye-glue: a hollowed egg, filled with a mixture of boiled rice, peppers and some other stuff. When needed, one of these eggs would be hurled in the enemy's face, where it would break and get stuck. When the mixture hit the eyes, it would fuse to the eyeball...

I always thought the gastraphetes was a pretty obscure ancient weapon. At the time it came about, it was great, but more specialized weapons, like ballistas and crossbows, took its place.

Speaking of which, the chu-ko-nu, aka the Manchurian repeating crossbow, is pretty bizarre too.
Google "repeating crossbow" or "crossbow plans". Instructions for construction available on the net... :eek:

horseman's pick

Lucerne hammer

Both warhammers.

The knife knuckle-duster you mentioned earlier.

:confused: I always thought it was called a punch-knife.

I recommend you google ancient Indian and Mauyran weapons. They have some truly unique designs.
Also look up ancient North African weapons, all sorts of oddities there.

Finally, I know china has been mentioned, but there is one specific weapon which facinated me for a while from ancient china.
The weapon was definately in use during the rise and chinese-conquest of Qin shi huangdi (china's first emporer in it's current form), beyond this I'm not sure. They excavated hundreds of terracotta soldiers armed with them near qin's tomb (mt. Li).

Basically they blend the features of an axe, halberd and a dagger. To describe, it comes in two sizes; 1 is almost a metre and a half long, the other about 2 metres long. It is a pole-arm(a pole with something on the end). the head of the weapon features a blade about the shape and length of a dagger protruding at about 120 degree angle from the pole pointing upwards. Some versions also have a small spike opposite the blade, and at the tip of the pole, this is particularly true of the longer types.

The weapons functionality is basically that of a can opener, as it combines all of the force and momentum generated by a swing using the leverage of the extended pole, then delivers it to a very small area by connecting with the 'dagger' point. It was essentially designed to peice armour of any type.

As far as the name, I had a great amount of difficulty finding it, the weapon itself is easy to come by in research, just not an officila name. The only name I found was in an old encyclopedia, which labelled it as a 'dagger-axe'.

Hope that may be of some help.

Sounds like a pole axe.

http://www.armor.com/2000/catalog/images/010detail.jpg

Multi-purpose infantry weapon.

Kinda an odd question, but does anyone out there know anything about bizzare ancient weapons. Google was actually no help for once.

Pretty much any ancient weapons besides the standard swords, spears, arrows, daggers, etc. Oh, and no theoretical ancient high tech weapons like A-bombs.

My deepest thanks, and feel free to stop by the Free Land of Moantha anytime.

You could try searching for ancient technology which is being used in our day and age by searching into ancient greek technology and "xanibou" if this is of no help try to message me and ill get back to you

It was the name applied to Cu Chulain's spear, you're right, but there are accounts of other barbed spears being used (Finn used one as well), and a few have been dug up. It seems to have been rather similar to the Japanese spear with a long blade and a short haft (naginata?), except that both edges were serrated with backwards pointing barbs.


the naginata had had a very long haft and a long slightly curved blade.

I understand that in pre-Colombian South and Central America, obsidian club/swords were used (maquahuitl), but I'm having difficulty googling up a reputable non-RPG or wiki site for them. They were basically a nightstick with obsidian blade inserts.

Here's a pic from a Spanish site:

http://www.mexico-france.com/images/codices/neza.jpg

Some Pacific island cultures are supposed to have used shark teeth for a similar weapon.

A wiki site is probably the closest you're gonna get to an authorative source of information about the maquahuitl and macana.

What more is really needed? 'stick with sharp shit crammed in the edges' works for me. :p

Works for me too. No one's gonna care about the emtology of the name when your protagonist is beating the s*** out of the bad guys with it.