Shooting Experiments with Early Medieval Arrowheads

Abstract

In the Merovingian era (5th-8th century AD) a lot of variously shaped iron arrowheads were used by the Franks, Alemannians and Bavarians, who dwelled in the region known today as Germany, Austria and Switzerland (See Figure 1). As archaeological artefacts, two-winged arrowheads with rhombic, willow-leaf or triangular blades represent a standard Germanic type. Iron bodkin and needle-shaped tips are also found in Merovingian warrior graves, although they are less numerous. Finally, we have three-winged arrowheads. They belong to a type that seldom occurs in Central Europe. Such arrowheads were adopted by the Franks from Italy, that is the Byzantine Mediterranean area where this design, originally invented as bronze arrowheads by Scythian steppe nomads, was used since ancient Greek and Roman times. Other exceptional archaeological findings like transverse and trident-shaped arrowheads, or special forms that could have belonged to fire arrows, are also known from early medieval burial sites.

Keywords

• weapon
• fighting
• bow and arrow
• hunting
• early middle ages
• france
• germany