9 - The Iron Sword from the “Warrior’s Grave” in Lanuvium

Summary

IN 1934 A RICH burial dating to the beginning of the fifth century B.C. was discovered in Lanuvium, near Rome. The grave contained both sporting items (including a rare bronze throwing disc, three alabastra, strigils and a leather pouch) and high-quality weapons, with a refined bronze helmet and cuirass, likely of Etruscan manufacture, as well as an iron cavalry sword of the type usually called a machaira. It was the burial of a young wealthy horseman whose life was clearly focused on war and sport.

Some considerations follow regarding the use of different Greek terms for different types of swords, with references and examples from the main literary sources (from Homer to Xenophon and Caesar). Furthermore, the archaeological data suggests a trend in the evolution and diffusion of machairae/kopides in the Mediterranean area. All of these elements allow the author to propose a convincing match between the Greek terms and the different types of swords.

Also provided is a short description of the organisation of Roman cavalry in the sixth and fifth centuries B.C., to better describe the society in which the Lanuvium warrior lived.

LANUVIUM AND THE DISCOVERY

Lanuvium is a small town, about twenty miles south-east of Rome, in the area called Castelli Romani. According to legend, the ancient city was founded either by the Greek hero Diomedes, or by Lanoios, a Trojan friend of Aeneas, and was famous for the presence of the sanctuary of Iuno Sospita (favourable Iuno) and its agricultural rites (including the sacrifice of young girls to a sacred snake).

In the sixth century B.C. Lanuvium was a member of the thirty populi of the Latin League and participated in the insurrections against Rome, while in the fifth century B.C. it was often allied with Rome. It then changed sides again and participated in the last insurrection of the Latin League against Rome; in 338 B.C. the League was defeated and for a few years Lanuvium was downgraded from municipium cum suffragio to civitas sine suffragio, but its former rank was soon restored due to the importance of the sanctuary of Iuno Sospita.

In January 1934, during the building of an irrigation structure in the area of Vigna Galieti (the site of a Roman villa located just outside of the ancient city), a stone sarcophagus placed in a wide (2 × 2m) quadrangular ditch dug into the tuff was discovered.