Tuesday, January 13 2026

Tag: arsenical copper metallurgy

The World’s Oldest Swords and the Birth of Warfare at Arslantepe

The World’s Oldest Swords and the Birth of Warfare at Arslantepe

More than four decades ago, excavations at Arslantepe Mound revealed a find that would fundamentally alter how archaeologists understand the origins of warfare. Unearthed inside a mud-brick palace complex, a cache of nine metal blades—long regarded today as the world’s oldest known swords—pushed the emergence of sword technology back by at least a millennium. Until