Long iron sword (Hallstatt C type)
Espada larga de hierro (tipo Hallstatt C)
- Date
- c. 750 BCE · confidence medium
- Place
- Hallstatt, Upper Austria, Austria
- Credited to
- Hallstatt culture peoples
- Field
- Conflict
What it is
A long straight-bladed sword forged in iron with a bronze or iron hilt, replacing bronze swords in central Europe. Iron, more abundant than tin, allowed more warriors to be armed.
The oldest iron swords date from c. 1200-1000 BC in Anatolia and the Aegean; the long Hallstatt C sword is the characteristic central European form, without implying chronological priority.
What it led to
- the armament of Celtic warrior elites and the long La Tène sword
- a larger number of armed warriors
- sword burials as a status marker in the European Iron Age