The Efectiveness of Greek armour against Persian Arow in the Persian Wars (490-479 BC)

309 Pages·1977·47.81 MB·English

by  P. H. Blyth

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EFFECTIVEONFE SS AGAINST
GRS:e:K AEvtOUR ARROWS
THE
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IN PERSIAN 479B .C.) :
TH.e: WAR
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(490
INTERDISCIPLINARY
AN ENQUIRY
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by
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PHILIHF:NPR Y BLYTH
Thesissu bmittteodt heU niversit7
ofR eadingi npa rtiaflul filmeonft
requiremenftso r Degreoef
the
the
Doctoorf P hilosophy.
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1977.
J
,
page
position
f'3ITor
correction
251,252
1.10
Equ�tions1 .8,
Rth and �ide Rthand si e shdbe
shown d
1.11.
negative positive.
252 15
line a -f a
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=
=
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m
m
line Livy Liv y """
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1.7 ,
11
line Retyemah Re t yrnnon.
h
Referencosa dd
13901,3 96
Balfour H. BalfouJro,u rnoalf t heRo yal A!1thropological
19 (13902)2 0 26 (13962)1 0
Institute ff, ff.
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970
Coghlan1 II.H. An invetsigationu ponFi ve 3ronzeAr rO'.lhcads, .
,
(1970)3 <Y.r331.
CoghlSianbri,uln X
1840-1858
Gerhard: P. Gerhard,A userlesoVnaos enbilder,
•
•
1968; 1968, 251'.
ib.ssoy 2.S.1-IasDcyH,c cha.l1icosf FluiJs,L ondon
•
1953/59,
ncholls H.Y.Nicholls,O ldS :.lyrna, thoi ron agef orti.ficat-ionest c.
6.
ThoL ydianc apture of Smyrna, ,A.nn1l<>1o f theBl"i tish
/
1958591 28-134.
Schoola t Ath0ns
Sulimirsid1 954,
T.Suli mirsld,S cythiaannt iq ui tiesi n :lestern .:sAritiaru,s
(19542)8 2-334
J.siae1 7
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/
Force U'/ ­
u
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o ,w ) 4
)(
Oi�placement
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P. H.iXl yth.
TIm E./F.cC'i'IVL!-;PEO;F3 ,G.:Jl �';F� ..'-,C',OUR
llGHIN.:JiTr iO':J;r.;i 'lIIIIEH{. [�j I .I,:LRJ1 '
'..
.
490
( -479
Interdisciplinl:.anryq uiry
Jln B.C.)
by P. H. Blyth
ABSTRACT
Asiatica rchersp rovedl esss uccessfualg ainst
armouredt roopsel'uringt he Persiani nvasiono f Greecet han
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theirs ucce6sorisn TIomana nd Byzantinet i�es,w ho used
similar-lookibnogw s. Apparentlyq,u ites mallv ariationisn
arT:loourr weaponoc ouldt ip the balance,b ut they can onl,. be
discerneelu singt he historicaelv idencca nd the growingb od,.
e
of archsoologicRmla teriali f the technologicaplr incipl s
.
governingt he dcsigno f ancient\- /capona6n d armour� re under-
stood. This studys eekst o investigate and apply sOlDoe f
,
thosep rincipleisn relationt o land warf e duringt he
ar
479
Persiani nvasiono f Grecco,4 90 B.C.,Dn d to establish
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data.
and methodsf or use in f�,\rthreers earch.
It aSSUT,J0C. anda rchneo-
is the basiso f historical
on
logicale videncet hatG reeka rmollrers i ed to providet he
a m
most extensivep rotectioang ainst hand-heslpeda rs consistent
witha low,a nd ste dil,. decreasing, limito n veight
a
.
Henco r-.rrOmli·g/hSt poso a specialt hreat eitheirf their
,
kinetice nergyw ere highert hant h t in tho spear,o r be
n
of theirs malld iameter.
The enorgyo f Persian S�cnydth ian rro s is esti ted
a w ma
cy severalm ethods, one of which,c mplo,.ingc stim�tcso f tho
stHfl1.C66o t tho rrow andi ta nbilit y to "Itihs tnndt he
a
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r
inertiall oada s it io launhcod, mayb o now. Tho no gy
v
prodictiusda bouth alf thnto stim�tfvo�r meuiauvalar rows,
and rou8hlye qualto th�t cstihlcfto�rd t hQ spoar.
Tho offocto f �rojoctildei ametero n tho work ot
porforationw,h on thin plr.tioo otruc!b�y a pyrnmidAl
, n
projoctil�ot compar�tivollyo w volocitiooc,a nnoty ot bo
. , .
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thnt in plnteso f woodo r l enthert he worki ncreasersa pidrl
i shells
withp ro ectiled ameter whereaisn plnteso f of
,
j
ductilmee tr�e,sp cinllyt hsoo with C ture convoxt o
Ul"vn
e
to.
..
impacti,t i l l
t he directioonf ncreass unexpec�cdlrs ow r
e e
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i oft he
Tnk ngi ntoa ccount tho shnpe arrowheads. d
on
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thot hickness
and compositioofn the nrmoUrt it is concluded
thc.t adequotc
in theseb atltes bronzoa rmourp rovided
i hi d
protetcon againsta rrows,b ut thatt he hoplite s ld di
e
not,nn d it is shownt hctt his conclusioins consistonwti th
th�l i that
t r� evidencone4 fromv ase ntingse
o
pai
Preface
In presentinag thesisf ort he Degreeo f Do�toro f
Philosophyt,h e writer naturalleyx pectsh is workt o be
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ing
judgedb y the highests tandards;h oweveri,n a wide-
enquiry,w hichmu st be completeidn a limitedt ime,i t is
not possiblteo professe xpertkn owledgei n all departments.
I wouldt hereforaes k the readert o regardt hisw orka s
primariltyh ato f an histroian, seekingn ew sourceso f
informationi n technicafli eldsw hereh e is necessarily
amateur, and to judgeh is successn ot smuoc h by the
an
completenesosf his knowledget here,b ut by the relevance
of his observationst o the historicaplr oblme, and their
general+. ruth. If the overallt rendo f the argllm ent,an d
the detailehdi storicailn terpretatiionn t he lasttw o
chaptersw,i n acceptance,I hopet hato ccasionaclrudi ties
elsewhermea y be eithero verlookeodr correctebdy others.
The thesisi s a reporto n research d in
1976.
Septembe1r9 73an d finisheind December Ex cept
wherei ndicated by approprreifaetree ncest,h e thesisi s
basedo n originarle searccha rried out by the author,an d
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includenso thingw hichi s the outcomea t workd onei n
collabotnii on
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Thist hesish as not beens ubmittefdo r a degree�
any otherU niveristy.
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Dedication
To my colleagueisn the Teachinpgr ofessionin, the
hopet hati t may helpt owardt he improvemenotf specialist
education. P.H.B.
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A r.KNOWLEF!rJ/E:NTGT S
This studyw ouldn ot have been possiblew ithoutt he
foresightg,e nerositya,n d cooperatioonf many peoplean d
severali nstitutions. It does not oftenh appent hat a
in his forties,i n the junior rankso f the Teaching
man
profession, and with a sizeablef a�ilyt o supporti s given
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the leisure,t he facilitiesa,n d the assistancet o compose
o·
a work whichl ies so far beyondt he confineso f his previous
knowledge and competence. The requirementwse re large,
they were amplym et, and I hope thatm y gratitude is
commensuratean,d that the work will provides ome repayment.
The enquiry has been s.p'portedf rom early stage
an
by the Leverhulmteru. st; I am most grat�ful to the T tees
rlls
for enablingt he Universiotfy Readingt o providea s lary
a
sufficientt o ensure peaceo f mind in spiteo f inflation
and my familyr esponsibilitieasn,d for grants to cover
travel and materials. g titu de is alsod ue to the
l'a
My
Vice-Chancellanodr Senateo f theU niversityf or admitting
me to a ResearchF ellowshipan d me�bershiopf the Academic
Staff,w itha ll the facilitiestha t that impleis, for the
duratioonf my re earch
s
.
The concepto f an interdisciplinsatu;rdyy using the
�ethodso f the engineer to contributet o Ancient History
was due to ProfessoAr. W.H.Adkintsh enF rofessoorf
Classicsa,n d to ProfessoJr. E.GordonP,r ofes8vro f
MaterialsT echnology,b otho f ReadingU niversity.Th is
study was begun under theirj oints upeI'vision,an d
completeundd �r thato f ProfesooGro rdona lone,a fter
ProfessoArd kins' departure.
I gratefult o them both
am
for my introductiotno the subjectan d for continualh elp
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and encouragemenbtu,t particularltyo ProfessoGro rdon
who has been cmhyi eft utori n scientifimca ttersan d much
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else besides.T he choiceo f topic,h owever,i s myo wn,
and neitheri s in any way responsiblfeo r the views
expressed.
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For provisioonf laboratoranyd officef acilitieIs
vlisht o thank ProfessorP .B.Fellgetantd, Professo'r-I .Hirst,
successivelhye adso f the Departmenotf Engineeringan d
Cybernetics,e speciallPyr ofessoHri rstf or his personal
int'aresitn the projecta nd the loan of the compressed
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air devicem entioneidn chapter5 . For tuition and help
in engineerinagn d others cientifimca tters,an d also for
companionshipe,n courgaement,d iscussioannd suggestions
lowe a greatd ebt to ProfessoWr. D.Biggsa,n d Drs.A.J.Pretlo7e,
C.R.Chaplin,J .F.V.VincenPt.,J .!iusgrove,R .S.Dobbans d
G.Jeronimidis. My debtt o Dr.Jeronimidiiss parti cul arly
great,s inceh e·h as not onlyc opede ndlesslwiyt h my mathematical
.
shortcomingbsu t also conducterde searcho n my behalf in Rome,
presenteind Appendix3 .1.
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In the depart:1ent oCfl assicsI, grateful to
an
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Mr.F.Robertsosnu,cc essort o ProfessoArd kinss s heado f
departmentan,d to Dr.J.G.T.e.nde1a,f or facilities dis sion,
cus
,
and the provisioonf contacts.I alsor eme�bewri ths pecial
sratitudteh e lateD r.A.n.UreC,ur ator of theU niversity
Classicamlu seum. Beoause of the respectan d affectioinn
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whichs he was heldt hroughout the worldo f ClassicaAlr chaeology,
the introductiotnos distinguishesdc holarwsi thw hichs he
comple,nentheedr advi,oo always most warmly received.
were
For opport�nitiest o examinea r�our and archerye quipment
in this country I grateful to Mr. Iaj'yn es, thenK eepero f
am
Greek and Roman Ant iquit ies at the Brit ish Museum, ·ooth
for his personala ssista.ncea nd that of his staff;t o the
Keepero f Antiql it ies and his staffa t the Ashmolean,pa rticul ar··
,
ly Mr.I�..JV ickerst,o Mr.H.Bomford,a nd to the curator of the
NationalU useum of ''<'lakteos ;J r� H.Russell Robinson, Keeopfe r
.
Armoura t the Towero f London,w ho also prC'lideidn fo tion
l"ma
on the Vatican shield,d escribedi n Appendix 3.1,an d on
many otherm atters;t o Ur.H.H.Coghl , thenC urator, of the
an
NewbucyM useum,f or examintioonf a:rrowheadsan,d metallurgical
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discussiont,o Dr.I nskeepan d Dr.Cre�ghtonsu,c cessivelyh eads
of the Pitt R vers Museum,an d to the Keepero f the ',"esteI"n
i
AsiaticD epartmenotf the BritishMu seum and his staff,
partciularly Mr.J.E.Curtis.P rofessoFr. G.Maiero f Zurich
broughtt o En gl d samples of the typeA bodkin excavatebdy
an
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him at Kouklia i n Cyprus, and a pe publicati n draft of the
r o
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catalogue,f or botho f whichI am grateful.
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For facilitieasn d guidance in Greece,I gratefUl to
aID
Dr. Catling,D irectoro f the British.�chooin l Athen , and to
g
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memberso f the School,e speciallPyr ofessorT rendallt,o
.
Dr. Yalourisan d his staft at the NationalMus eum in Athens,
especiallDyr . Barbara Phillipakanid Dr. Kalligast,o
\
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the curator of the mueeum at Olympiaan d his staff,e speically
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Dr. Triant i, to Dr. Mallwtiz and otherm emberso f the Ge
llman
3choolt he e, and to Dr. Romeopoulou, atora t �alo,11ka.
r cur
On the gineering side,I gratotutlo Profes30Trh eochar1s
en am
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of the TechnicalU iversity,an d his staff,e specially
n
to Dr. Paipetes, both for otherh elp and for the construction
of a measuring device;f or Botanical advicet o Dr.Mavrornattes
of the ForestryC ommissionan,d to Dr. Zachariadeosf the
Goulandri eum for the identificatioonf reeds. Also to
mus
ProfessorG oldsulitho f California,t hen visitingt he Technical
University for adviceo n thep roject,r elatingt o impact.
I particularliyn debtedt o Mr. GeorgeV aroufakis,o f the
am
�ationalS teelc ompanyo f Greecef or info!IDation on ancient
iron and bronze,an d for thd loan of a hardnestse ster.
In the chaptero n archery,m y debtt o �{r.RoberHta rdy
is apparertt.l owe much to the memberso f the groupw hich
has met at Readingt o discusst opicsc onnectedw ith archery
and armour,p articularltyo !�.JohnW alleran d ProfessorF .L.
Pratto f ImperialC ollege. debt to ProfessorP I'att
extendsa lsot o chapters and 5, on armour perforation,
4
and therel owe an eveng reaterd ebt to Jfr.PeteJro n s,
e
of FortH alsted,f or verymany sug gestionsan d
crit icisms,i ncludingp rovisiono f the de Marree ql1a tion.
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In chaptersI and 6 I haved I'awn on experimentins the
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handling of weaponsm ade with the help of students
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the Berkshire Collegeo f Higher Ed cation, under the
u
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supervisiono f Miss Borman,p �d ont heirr eports,f or hich
w
againI grateful.
am
For technical s istan ce I parti ul ly g teful to
a s am c ar ra
S
14essrsR.. t tt and R.Horne wella s to othar t chn ici s
ann e ElS e an
a.nd experimcntnolf ficerso f thi department. Secratarially,
s
!trs.C ollinsg ave assistancbee yondt he call of duty at
crucial moments.
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t oollective
In a list alreadyl ong,I givem erely
mus
t,
thankst o many othersw ho haveg ivenh elp and enc
but I ot pass over entirelyt he contributiono f my own
cann
f r G.Bannett
fa;oily. Withoutt he adviceo f my wife's athe Mr
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British
late Directoro f OperationaRle search, Rail,an d
u t ift he
Treasurerof the BritishA ssociat ioTl,I do b s tlldy
without
wouldh aveb een undertaken or completed; her own
constancyan d couragei t certainly would not
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