View Single Post
Old 27th June 2007, 01:33 PM   #5
Jens Nordlunde
Member
 
Jens Nordlunde's Avatar
 
Join Date: Dec 2004
Location: Europe
Posts: 2,713
Default

Thank you for showing this rare blade. This made me remember another rare blade I have seen in Persian Steel by J. Allan and B. Gilmour, page 55. It is a slightly curved, single edged blade, 71.5 cm long, found in 9th century archaeological levels at Nishapur. Now at the MET. Here is a map – click to make it bigger http://www.metmuseum.org/TOAH/HD/nish/hd_nish.htm

At an excavation at Merv, where Ann Feuerbach participated, they excavated ingots, although they did not have any iron, it had to be imported, but Merv had at least two big plusses, it had a key position on the Silk Road, and it was an Arabian headquarters at the time. Have a look at the map showing some of the key towns on the Silk Road at the time, Herat, Nishapur, Merv, Bukhara and Samarqand.
Jens Nordlunde is offline   Reply With Quote