An Ancient Face Revealed

I don’t have any tattoos, or “skin illustrations” as Ray Bradbury called them, but don’t have a real objection to them on other folks if they are tasteful and well executed.  I overheard a person say some time ago that the kids didn’t tattoo themselves so much back in the “old days.”  I guess that fellow had a different idea than myself on what constituted the “old days.”  Using ink to color human skin has been going on, across cultures, long before history began to be written down.  The "Ice Princess" of Siberia, is a perfect example.

 

Re-Blogged from:  http://siberiantimes.com/culture/others/features/siberian-princess-reveals-her-2500-year-old-tattoos/

 

SIBERIAN PRINCESS REVEALS HER 2,500 YEAR OLD TATTOOS.

By The Siberian Times reporter

14 August 2012

The ancient mummy of a mysterious young woman, known as the Ukok Princess, is finally returning home to the Altai Republic this month.

She is to be kept in a special mausoleum at the Republican National Museum in capital Gorno-Altaisk, where eventually she will be displayed in a glass sarcophagus to tourists.

A beauty from the past.  The reconstructed face of the Ice Princess. 
From:  http://siberiantimes.com/science/casestudy/features/f0055-is-this-the-face-of-an-ancient-amazon-female-warrior/

For the past 19 years, since her discovery, she was kept mainly at a scientific institute in Novosibirsk, apart from a period in Moscow when her remains were treated by the same scientists who preserve the body of Soviet founder Vladimir Lenin.

To mark the move 'home', The Siberian Times has obtained intricate drawings of her remarkable tattoos, and those of two men, possibly warriors, buried near her on the remote Ukok Plateau, now a UNESCO world cultural and natural heritage site, some 2,500 metres up in the Altai Mountains in a border region close to frontiers of Russia with Mongolia, China and Kazakhstan.

They are all believed to be Pazyryk people - a nomadic people described in the 5th century BC by the Greek historian Herodotus - and the colourful body artwork is seen as the best preserved and most elaborate ancient tattoos anywhere in the world.

To many observers, it is startling how similar they are to modern-day tattoos.

The remains of the immaculately dressed 'princess', aged around 25 and preserved for several millennia in the Siberian permafrost, a natural freezer, were discovered in 1993 by Novosibirsk scientist Natalia Polosmak during an archeological expedition.

Buried around her were six horses, saddled and bridled, her spiritual escorts to the next world, and a symbol of her evident status, perhaps more likely a revered folk tale narrator, a healer or a holy woman than an ice princess.

There, too, was a meal of sheep and horse meat and ornaments made from felt, wood, bronze and gold. And a small container of cannabis, say some accounts, along with a stone plate on which were the burned seeds of coriander.

'Compared to all tattoos found by archeologists around the world, those on the mummies of the Pazyryk people are the most complicated, and the most beautiful,' said Dr Polosmak. More ancient tattoos have been found, like the Ice Man found in the Alps - but he only had lines, not the perfect and highly artistic images one can see on the bodies of the Pazyryks.

'It is a phenomenal level of tattoo art. Incredible.'

While the tattoos, preserved in the permafrost, have been known about since the remains were dug up, until now few have seen the intricate reconstructions that we reveal here.

 

From:  http://siberiantimes.com/culture/others/features/siberian-princess-reveals-her-2500-year-old-tattoos/

 

From: http://siberiantimes.com/culture/others/features/siberian-princess-reveals-her-2500-year-old-tattoos/

 

 

'Tattoos were used as a mean of personal identification - like a passport now, if you like. The Pazyryks also believed the tattoos would be helpful in another life, making it easy for the people of the same family and culture to find each other after death,' added Dr Polosmak. 'Pazyryks repeated the same images of animals in other types of art, which is considered to be like a language of animal images, which represented their thoughts.

'The same can be said about the tattoos - it was a language of animal imagery, used to express some thoughts and to define one's position both in society, and in the world. The more tattoos were on the body, the longer it meant the person lived, and the higher was his position. For example the body of one man, which was found earlier in the 20th century, had his entire body covered with tattoos. Our young woman - the princess - has only her two arms tattooed. So they signified both age and status.'

The tattoos on the left shoulder of the 'princess' show a fantastical mythological animal: a deer with a griffon's beak and a Capricorn's antlers. The antlers are decorated with the heads of griffons. And the same griffon's head is shown on the back of the animal.

The mouth of a spotted panther with a long tail is seen at the legs of a sheep. She also has a deer's head on her wrist, with big antlers. There is a drawing on the animal's body on a thumb on her left hand.

 

From: http://siberiantimes.com/culture/others/features/siberian-princess-reveals-her-2500-year-old-tattoos/

 

On the man found close to the 'princess', the tattoos include the same fantastical creature, this time covering the right side of his body, across his right shoulder and stretching from his chest to his back. The patterns mirror the tattoos on a much more elaborately covered male body, dug from the ice in 1929, whose highly decorated torso is also reconstructed in our drawing here.

His chest, arms, part of the back and the lower leg are covered with tattoos. There is an argali - a mountain sheep - along with the same deer with griffon's vulture-like beak, with horns and the back of its head which has a griffon's heads and an onager drawn on it.

All animals are shown with the lower parts of their bodies turned inside out. There is also a winged snow leopard, a fish and fast-running argali.

 

From: http://siberiantimes.com/culture/others/features/siberian-princess-reveals-her-2500-year-old-tattoos/

 

To some, the clash depicted on the tattoes between vultures and hoofed animals corresponds to the conflict between two worlds: a predator from the lower, chthonian world against herbivorous animals that symbolise the middle world.

Dr Polosmak is intrigued at way so little has changed.

'We can say that most likely there was - and is - one place on the body for everyone to start putting the tattoos on, and it was a left shoulder. I can assume so because all the mummies we found with just one tattoo had it on their left shoulders.

'And nowadays this is the same place where people try to put the tattoos on, thousands of years on.

'I think its linked to the body composition... as the left shoulder is the place where it is noticeable most, where it looks the most beautiful. Nothing changes with years, the body stays the same, and the person making a tattoo now is getting closer to his ancestors than he or she may realise.

'I think we have not moved far from Pazyryks in how the tattoos are made. It is still about a craving to make yourself as beautiful as possible.

'For example, about the British. A lot of them go on holiday to Greece, and when I've been there I heard how Greeks were smiling and saying that a British man's age can be easily understood by the number of tattoos on his body.

'I'm talking the working class now. And I noticed it, too. The older a person, the more tattoos are on his body.'

 

FINDING THE ICE-CLAD 'PRINCESS'

'It was an international research programme, devoted to the Pazyryk Iron Age culture,' said Academician Vyacheslav Molodin, deputy director of Institute of Archeology and Ethnography of the Siberian Branch of Russian Academy of Sciences.

To modern man, the only way in is by helicopter, yet in ancient times this was on the 'southern steppe road' used by migrating nomadic peoples in the pre-Christian and Dark Ages.

'The burial mound with the 'princess' seemed to be half deserted, with big holes which border guards dug to use the stones.

'It seemed less than hopeful. But Natalya Polosmak was determined that we had to start working on it.....

'To our utter surprise, there was an untouched burial chamber inside the mould.

'We started working on opening the 'ice lense' - the burial inside the mould was filled with ancient ice.

'We started to melt the ice. First the skeletons of six horses appeared, some with preserved wooden decorations on the harness, some with coloured saddles made from felt.

'On one of the saddles was a picture of a jumping winged lion.

'Then the burial room appeared from under the ice. It was made from larch logs. Inside stood a massive hollowed wooden log with a top, shut with bronze nails. Inside the log was all filled with ice.

'It was a tanned arm that appeared from under the ice first.

'A bit more work and we saw remain of a young woman, lying inside the log in a sleeping position, with her knees bent.

'She was dressed in a long shirt made from Chinese silk, and had long felt sleeve boots with a beautiful decoration on them.

 

From: http://siberiantimes.com/culture/others/features/siberian-princess-reveals-her-2500-year-old-tattoos/

 

'Chinese silk before was only found in 'Royal' burials of the Pazyryk people - it was more expensive than gold, and was a sign of a true wealth. 'There was jewellery and a mirror found by the log.

'The great value of Pazyryk burials is that they were all made in permafrost, which helped the preservation.

'It was quite unusual to have a single Pazyryk burial. Usually men from this culture were buried with women.

'In this case, her separate burial might signify her celibacy, which was typical for cult servants or shamans, and meant her independence and exceptionality.

'She had no weapons buried with her, or on her, which means that she certainly was not one of the noble Pazyryk women-warriors.

'Most likely, she possessed some special knowledge and was a healer, or folk tale narrator.

'From the inside the mummy was filled with herbs and roots. Her head was completely shaved, and she wore a horse hair wig.

'On top of the wig there was a symbol of the tree of life - a stick made from felt, wrapped with black tissue and decorated with small figures of birds in golden foil.

'On the front of the wig, like a cockade, was attached a wooden carving of deer.

'The princess's face and neck skin was not preserved, but the skin of her left arm survived, and we saw a tattoo, going all along it.

'She had tattoos on both arms, from shoulders to wrists, with some on the fingers, too. The best preserved of all was a tattoo on her left shoulder, featuring a deer with griffon's beak and a Capricorn's horns. A bit below is a sheep, with a snow leopard by its feet.'

It is said tattoos, once done, are for life. In this case, though, it was a whole lot longer. The experts say they were made with paint, partially concocted from the burned bits of plants, their soot or ashes which contained a high level of potassium. The drawings were pierced with a needle, and rubbed with a mixture of soot and fat.

Site of the Ice Princess's grave in Siberia. 
From: http://siberiantimes.com/science/casestudy/features/f0055-is-this-the-face-of-an-ancient-amazon-female-warrior/

 

 

WHAT RESEARCH ON HER BODY SHOWS

The experts say she died in her 20s, with the best guess at 25 to 28, and that this was 2,500 or more years ago, making her, for example, some five centuries older than Jesus Christ, and several hundred years the senior of Alexander the Great.

'She was called 'Princess' by the media. We just call her 'Devochka', meaning 'Girl'. She was 25-28 years old when she died,' said Irina Salnikova, head of the Siberian Branch of Russian Academy of Sciences Museum of Archeology and Ethnography.

'The reason for her death is unknown, because all her internal organs were removed before the mummifying. All we see is that there is no visible damage to her skull, or anything pointing to the unnatural character of her death.

'Her body is curled, so we can’t say for sure how tall she was. Some estimate her to be 1.62 metres, others say she could have been as tall as 1.68 metres. We could not establish when the young woman has had her tattoos made, at what age. The horses, found by her burial, were most likely first killed, and then buried with her.'

In 2010 an MRI scan was conducted on the mummy, the first time this had been done on ancient remains in Russia. The final results of exhaustive analytical work has still not been released.

But Andrei Letyagin, chairman of the MRI Center of the Siberian department of the Russian Academy of Sciences, said: 'The cause of death remains unknown. I don't believe that it will be possible to find an answer to this question because there's no brain and no internal organs in the body.'

In all probability she did not die from injury. 'Her skull is fully preserved, and so are the bones,' he confirmed. DNA obtained from her remains is intriguing.

The Princess of Ukok is not related to any of the Asian races, the scientists are convinced. She is not related, evidently, to the present day inhabitants of Altai. Moreover, she had a European appearance, it has been claimed.

'There was a moment of gross misunderstanding when a legend came about this mummy being a foremother of people of Altai,' said Molodin.

'The people of Pazyryk belonged to different ethnic group, in no way related to Altaians. Genetic studies showed that the Pazyryks were a part of Samoyedic family, with elements of Iranian-Caucasian substratum.'

So perhaps more Samoyedic than Scythian.

'We tried to overcome the misunderstanding, but sadly it didn't work.'

OBJECTIONS

Many locals in Altai were nervous from the start about the removal of remains from sacred burial mounds, known as kurgans, regardless of the value to science of doing such work.

In a land where the sway of shamans still holds, they believe the princess's removal led immediately to bad consequences.

'There are places here that it is considered a great sin to visit, even for our holy men. The energy and the spirits there are too dangerous,' warned one local. 'Every kurgan has its own spirit - there is both good and bad in them - and people here have suffered much misfortune since the Ice Princess was disturbed.'

It is nothing short of sacrilege to pour hot water on the remains of ancients who have survived in the permafrost for thousands of years, he said.

The 'curse of the mummy' even caused a crash of the helicopter carrying her remains away from Altai, some believe. Then in Novosibirsk, her body, preserved so well for so long, started to decompose.

Stories circulated that the princess had been stored in a freezer used to preserve cheese. Fungi began growing on the preserved flesh, it was claimed.

Whatever the truth, the scientists sought emergency help from the world-renowned Lenin embalming experts who worked on her remains for a year.

Back in Altai, many ills have been blamed on her removal: forest fires, high winds, illness, suicides and an upsurge in earthquakes in the Altai region.

Local woman, Olga Kurtugashova, said: 'She may be a mummy but her soul survives, and they say a shaman communicated with her and she asked to go home. That's what the people want, too.'

'Our ancestors are buried in these mounds,' insisted Rimma Erkinova, deputy director of the Gorno-Altaisk Republican National Museum as a war of words raged over the last decade. 'There are sacred items there. The Altai people never disturb the repose of their ancestors. We shouldn't have any more excavations until we've worked out a proper moral and ethical approach.'

THE CAMPAIGN FOR HER RETURN TO ALTAI

'She was a beautiful young woman, whom they dug up, poured hot water and chemicals upon, and subjected to other experiments. They did this to a real person,' complained Erkinova to the Irish Times newspaper in in 2004.

The same year, an Altai regional chief insisted: 'We must calm people and bury the Altai Princess.

'We're having earth tremors two or three times a week. People think this will go on as long as the princess's spirit is not allowed to rest in peace.'

Many wanted the princess to be returned from the Archaeological and Ethnographic Institute of Novosibirsk, some 600 km away, and restored to her original burial site.

After some 300 earth tremors in a six month period, the head of Kosh-Agachsky district Auelkhan Dzhatkambaev,appealed to the Siberian Federal District presidential envoy Leonid Drachevsky for this to happen.

Drachevsky travelled to Kosh-Agach and told residents that the mummies would not be returned, saying they were serving important scientific purposes, and that he was 'simply uncomfortable hearing about angry spirits, as if we were living in the Middle Ages'.

Erkinova's plan was different. 'We shall put the princess in a glass sarcophagus, so everybody can come and bow before her,' she said.

'This is a very painful issue. Altai's native people worry about their forbear. The Princess must return to us.'

People were angry, too, that the mummies were taken on a tour to Korea and Japan with one report saying the princess 'was met like a diva, with vast crowds, admirers on their knees and bouquets of red roses'.

Eventually a compromise was reached, though delays and arguments followed. Finally this culminates in this month's return of the princess not to her burial place but to the Altai museum.

'We agreed to give back the princess once the conditions for looking after it were right. That means proper accommodation with an air conditioner and a special sarcophagus,' said Molodin as long ago as 1997.

'Another condition was that this was our intellectual property and that we would have the right to use it for exhibitions and to study it. We're not doing this out of curiosity but in the interests of science. The soul is somewhere else and we're studying the remains. So I don't see a violation of any accepted social rule here.'

Finally, all now agree the princess is coming home.

BANNING MORE ARCHEOLOGICAL DIGS

The Altai authorities have now declared the remote mountain area from where the princess and her kinsmen were buried as a 'zone of peace' where no more excavations will take place, despite the near-certain treasures lying in the permafrost.

Such work amounts to plundering, they believe.

To Molodin, who found the male mummy several years after the princess, this deprives the world of a valuable scientific inheritance. He argues, too, that the issue is critical since global warming means the ancient bodies will decay.

Scientists reckon there are thousands of burial mounds here, hundreds of which date to the Pazyryk period, many of which may contain answers to questions about where we come from.

 

More information about the facial reconstruction and the other artifacts found in the burial can be found here:  http://siberiantimes.com/science/casestudy/features/f0055-is-this-the-face-of-an-ancient-amazon-female-warrior/

 

A Most Unlucky Sword

A very unique weapon came up for auction recently, one that holds a personal interest for me.  It did not meet its reserve and thus did not sell.  I'm happy for that, as there is now more chance that it will be purchased by a museum, where it can be seen by all.  I believe much of the "history" of this sword as provided by the auction house is speculation or was simply fabricated.  A good story will sell even a wonderful artifact for even more.   I'll let you read the story as presented in a UK Daily Mail article for your self before I offer my comments at the end of the blog.

An unlucky sword used by the losers of the Battles of Stamford Bridge, Hastings, Bannockburn and Boroughbridge over a period of 250 years is expected to reach £120,000 at auction.

It is believed that the 11th century broadsword was originally carried to Britain by Viking raiders when it was captured, only to be lost a few weeks later at the Battle of Hastings in 1066. 

In 1314, the sword was carried to Scotland at the Battle of Bannockburn, where the owner was forced to retreat having witnessed his nephew axed to death. 

However, the cursed sword's bad luck continued at the Battle of Boroughbridge in 1322, when the unfortunate owner was speared in the anus and killed.  Now, the weapon is going to be auctioned by Christie's auction house in London. 

The 27-inch 11th century Viking blade features an iron cross-guard. The sword has the coat of arms of Sir Humphrey de Bohun, whose nephew Henry was killed Bannockburn by Robert the Bruce.

According to Christie's the sword was captured three weeks before the Battle of Hastings after King Harold, the last Anglo-Saxon king of England defeated the Norwegian raider King Hardrada at the Battle of Stamford Bridge in Yorkshire. 

The doomed sword was used at Hastings where King Harold was defeated by William the Conqueror. 

Experts believe that the sword was picked up from the battlefield by Humphrey De Bohun, who was the victorious king's god father.

The blade was remounted with the De Bohan coat of arms, where Sir Humphrey De Bohun, 4th Earl of Hereford and Essex carried it north to Scotland.  He was killed eight years later at the Battle of Boroughbridge where a patient pikeman speared him in the anus. 

Christie’s spokeswoman Dernagh O’Leary said today: 'Whilst it cannot be proved, it is not at all inconceivable that the blade of the present sword was captured or taken as a trophy by de Bohun at Hastings and was later remounted to become a family sword.

'The present sword, whilst not being a war sword, would have served as a clear badge of identity with its gold and enamelled coat of arms on the pommel and eminently more practical as a side arm around camp when not mounted and armed for battle. It is therefore entirely possible that this sword was present at Bannockburn in June 1314 if not actually on the field of battle.

'Sir Humphrey went to meet with a particularly gruesome end at the battle of Boroughbridge in Yorkshire in March 1322.  

'For the last 50 years, the sword has been in the hands of two private collectors, firstly with the Australian-based Corrigan Collection, and latterly with the present, anonymous, vendor.'

Sir Humphrey's unfortunate demise was later celebrated by the children's TV show Horrible Histories. 

A Christie’s expert said: 'The whereabouts of the sword prior to Corrigan’s ownership is not known, but the mention of a family sword bearing the de Bohun arms in Sir Humphrey’s will and the use of a mid-11th century Viking blade makes for an interesting train of thought potentially linking significant events of British history from the Vikings, Hastings and Bannockburn through this object.

'A series of x-rays which accompany the sword support the age of the items and show no modern repairs.”

The sword blade is described as 'an extremely rare late medieval broadsword, with earlier Viking blade, and bearing the arms of the De Bohun family'. 

Celia Harvey, Christie’s Head of Sale, said: 'We are delighted to be offering this extremely rare sword during the year in which the Battle of Bannockburn celebrates its 700th birthday.

'We imagine that the sword will be of broad interest to collectors of historical artefacts or arms and armours as well as to museums and institutions.

'The sword will be on display for a month at our South Kensington saleroom which will allow it the publicity and exposure it deserves.'

THE UNLUCKIEST SWORD IN ENGLISH HISTORY AND ITS FOUR BATTLES

The Viking sword arrived in September 1066, where it was captured at the Battle of Stamford Bridge

Battle of Stamford Bridge September 1066 

  In September 1066 King Harald of Norway landed in Yorkshire, with Earl Tostig, the brother of the reigning English monarch King Harold.   Harold marched north to challenge the Vikings who had already captured York and were threatening his throne. 

  After freeing York, Harold confronted the Viking invaders at Stamford Bridge where the sword was picked up from the battle field by forces loyal to the English king, who returned south to face the threat posed by the Normans 

 

One of King Harold's men carried the sword south where it was again on the losing side at Hastings 

 Battle of Hastings, October 14, 1066

   Just three weeks after the Battle of Stamford Bridge, King Harold was again facing a major challenge to his throne.  This time, William the Conqueror, who had been promised the English throne by Edward the Confessor landed on the South Coast. 

   William delayed his invasion until after Harold fought the Vikings at Stamford Bridge so his adversary's forces would be weakened. 

The battle took place on October 14, 1066 when William's cavalry charged the defending English troops. 

   Historians believe the English defenders had an effective shield wall and were able to repel the initial charges until King Harold was killed in battle, reputedly by an arrow in the eye. 

 

Sir Humphrey de Bohun witnessed his nephew killed by Robert the Bruce  before fleeing with the sword

Battle of Bannockburn, June 1314

  The two-day battle between June 23-24 1314 is one of the major points in Scottish history. 

   Outnumbered by three-to-one, the Scottish army under Robert the Bruce, routed the forces of Edward II. 

    Among those at the battle was Sir Humphrey de Bohun, who was carrying the sword, his ancestor Humphrey de Bohan had picked up from the battle field in Hastings 200 years earlier.

    He witnessed his nephew Henry de Bohun charge Robert the Bruce across the battlefield where the Scottish king struck the English knight in the head. 

   Sir Humphrey fled the scene and was captured - along with his sword.   

 

Sir Humphrey de Bohan was killed at Boroughbridge 

Battle of Boroughbridge March 16, 1322

   Eight years after escaping with his life at Bannockburn, Sir Humphrey de Bohan was marching against troops loyal to Edward II. 

Sir Humphrey tried to charge forces guarding a wooden bridge in Boroughbridge in Yorkshire, with his unlucky sword.

   As he reached the bridge, a man using a pike, stabbed Sir Humphrey from below, reportedly ramming the weapon through his anus. 

   Sir Humphrey was fighting for the Earl of Lancaster, who was contesting the English throne. 

   Following his defeat, the Earl of Lancaster was captured and later executed for treason. 

Historians believe that Edward II's men had learned several of the tactics deployed by the     Scottish at Bannockburn to defeat his rivals. 

This article was reblogged from:  http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2689177/Is-England-s-unluckiest-sword-Viking-broadsword-losing-four-history-s-greatest-battles-just-120-000.html

I believe that this sword was used by a member of the de Bohun family, as evidenced by the family arms engraved on the pommel.  The pommel and cross guard of the sword also point to the time frame of Sir Humphrey de Bohun.  However the shape of the blade may indicate that it was most likely made long after Stamford Bridge and Hastings.  The claim that the blade is of "Viking" heritage is spurious at best.  I think we can disregard the early history of the sword, as the sword itself disputes it and there is nothing else to verify that aspect of the tale. 

With a 27 inch blade, the sword is rather short for the era, but within the realm of swords of this type.  It is an arming sword, a one handed sword that was for everyday wear.  Sir Humphrey would have owned many swords and may have had a much larger, "Sword of War" that he also took into combat.  

But the fact remains that this sword may have been at Bonockburn and Boroughbridge.  Sir Humphrey met with disaster at Bonockburn and and lost his life at Boroughbridge.  That alone would make this sword quite unlucky.  It also gives the sword a remarkable provenance that few others can match.  And why does it have a personal connection for me?  Sir Humphrey de Bohn, the 4th Earl of Hereford was my 19th Great Grandfather!

We Few, We Happy Few, We Band of Brothers

599 years ago today, the English Army under Henry V inflicted one of the greatest defeats against the French in  history.  A starving, rag-tag group of Englishmen who had been on the run for over two week, clashed with the French near the little village of Agincourt.  The over confident French were rested well fed and three times their number.  At the end of the fighting the flower of French nobility lay dead in a muddy wheat field.  8,500 Frenchmen lay dead, more than 2,000 more than were in the entire English Army.  

A short excerpt from Chapter 24 of my young reader's novel, "The Archer's Son" in honor of the victory at Agincourt.

"Keep your heads, lads, and nock a bodkin," William called out. "There is Lord Erpingham. Now we will provoke the French into moving." The old knight strode quickly out in the field in front of the line where all could see him. He tossed a baton high in the air to draw the attention of all the archers.

"Now strike!" The old knight bellowed at the top of his lungs.

In unison, five thousand archers muscled bow cords to their ears and launched arrows high in the air toward the French lines. It was a long shot, so the high-arching arrows took several seconds to ascend before they started their deadly fall to earth. Hedyn could see a faint shadow that drifted across the wheat field created by the mass of five thousand feathered missiles. Like a great flock of starlings, he thought. 

Before the first arrows began to thud into men and horses and to clang against armor, the archers were sending more arrows on their way, each man shooting at his own pace. Within a minute, 60,000 arrows were in the air or scattered across the battlefield. Some in dirt, some in men.

The arrow storm had its intended effect. Trumpets sounded, drums thumped, and the French line finally came to life. 

"We are in for it now, lads," William said to no one in particular. 

Mounted knights appeared on each side of the French formation, as the main line of armored men on foot began to move forward. The heavy armor and thick mud made them seem slow and clumsy. 

"Put your arrows on the cavalry, lads. They will try to break our archers on the flanks," the ventenar instructed. "Help our mates on the flanks. Broadheads into horse flesh. If a horse goes down, the knight will go too." Hedyn hated to see the horses killed, but he knew that the highly trained animals were as much a weapon as the lances and swords that each of the knights pointed at his comrades.
From where he stood near the center of the line, Hedyn watched in awe as the French cavalry thundered toward the English flanks on either side of him. The air behind each of the big coursers filled with clods as pounding hoofs splattered the black mud. 

The archers did not falter behind their wooden stakes but poured the bodkins and broadhead arrows into the mass of horses and men. Some began to fall as arrows found chinks in armor or were embedded in screaming horses. Some slowed and galloped back as it became too perilous near the archers and their stakes. A few stalwarts made it to the line of bowmen and discovered that the horses slowed or stopped, refusing to gallop into the protective barricade of stakes. These men were pulled from their mounts and killed by swarms of angry archers. 

One man, a great nobleman in the finest armor, tumbled from his horse headlong as the animal impaled itself on a stake. Even from where Hedyn stood, the splash of red blood stood out on the bleak, muddy field. The man never had a chance to rise from his fall, killed where he lay.

"I knew these stakes were a good scheme the minute King Henry had us cut 'em back in Corbie!" Denzel said, almost as confidently as if he had devised the idea himself. The men rolled their eyes and laughed at him. He smiled sheepishly.

Panicked war-horses, some rider-less, crashed back through the oncoming French line, sending men-at-arms tumbling and scattering to make way. The line slowed, but regrouped and slogged on through the mud.

The French line began to change. It became bunched and irregular. The French knights instinctively crowded to the center to avoid the deadly arrows streaming from the English flanks. The archers stood behind their stakes and shot as fast as arrows could be nocked. The visibility of King Henry's banners at the center of the line reinforced this movement toward the center. The French knights were not disciplined enough to remain where the battle plan required. The line slowly transformed into a blunt wedge, which only presented more targets to the busy archers. 

"Shoot, shoot! Pour it on, lads! Pour it on!" William screamed in a voice that Hedyn had never heard before. It seemed a mixture of terror, excitement, and merriment, almost like the voice of a boy involved in some risky prank. The arrows at the men's feet were long gone, and now each man shot the arrows in the extra bundles that Hedyn delivered before the fight. One hundred and twenty thousand arrows were gone, and still the French came."

An English Archer as he might have looked just prior
to the Battle of Agincourt in 1415.

William Shakespeare immortalized the great victory at Agincourt in his play, "Henry V."   Shakespeare's version of King Henry's speech before the battle has become one of his most famous scenes.  In my opinion, the version delivered by Kenneth Branagh in a movie by the same name in 1989, is the most moving.  You can see the speech here on Youtube:    

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A-yZNMWFqvM

Recreating Daniel King's Little Howitzer



During the fall of 2012, I began a project to reproduce a King's Howitzer, a small cannon used in the late 18th century.  I had just sold my full scale 3 pounder gun and limber which I had built in 1999.  That gun and limber were heavy, about 1500 lbs, and took a big crew to serve is safely. 

"Miss Rachel" as we called her was gone, but I wanted something smaller, and authentic, that I could use for upcoming War of 1812 Bicentennial events.  A King's Howitzer fit that bill.

In 1790, General "Mad" Anthony Wayne was looking for a small, highly portable field piece that he could use against the Native Americans on the frontier.  He provided some very basic specifications including caliber (2.85 inches) and overall weight and sent them off to Daniel King of Philadelphia.  The gun was to be a howitzer (meaning there was to be a powder chamber in the breech smaller in diameter than the bore.) It was to be conveyed in pack saddles, not towed, and was to have a total weight of no more than 250 pounds.  King was able to provide such a gun and General Wayne was pleased with results.  However, it was soon discovered the little cannon could not take its own recoil and damaged itself upon firing. The solution was to make the bronze barrel beefier in the breech and trunnions, increasing its weight from 38 to 60 pounds.

The little guns were designed to fire exploding shells and grapeshot with a four ounce powder charge. 

A battery of the King's Howitzers opened the Battle of Falling Timbers and continued to serve at various frontier outposts through the War of 1812.  Most had been retired from service at the end of that conflict.  For a complete history of the King's Howitzer, go to this link: http://gunneyg.info/html/KHp1.htm

Although several of the bronze barrels have survived, the same cannot be said for the carriages.  Some hints are provided in correspondence of the time, but much speculation must be used in reproducing the carriages.  Most scholars believe they were scaled down versions of the British 5.5 howitzer, and that is where I started in designing my King's Howitzer carriage.

My bronze barrel, or "tube" as they are termed in artillery circles, was cast by Bob Gilmor in Ohio. It has true 2.85 inch bore with a 1.3 inch chamber.  I purchased the wheels from shop, also in Ohio, that specializes in 19th century style wagon wheels.  One of the period references stated the carriages used "cart wheels."  These wheels fit that description and help keep the cannon under its 250 pound target weight.  I got the raw lumber from a local saw mill and dried, planed, cut and mortised it myself based on my reconstructed carriage design.




I had gotten to this point before it occurred to me to start photo documenting the construction process.  I have already cut the cheeks and mortised them for the transoms (cross pieces) and fitted the axle tree. The steel axle is actually a 1 inch pipe that fits the one inch hub on the wheels.  Here you see the bronze tube and the iron work I had made by a local blacksmith. These pieces had to be 1/4 inch or thicker to handle the recoil of the gun. 

Here you can see the cheek iron and axle brackets fitted to the wood, The bolts are in, but the nails holes and nails are not yet made.  The drag hooks were also made by the blacksmith to my specifications.

Here is the same stage from the rear. You can see that the cheek iron is still loose.  The rear drag hooks are fitted and in place.



The trail irons are all made from soft 1/8 inch thick steel.  I made these by carefully measuring and cold bending the steel in a vice and then hammering to get the clean square bends were needed. 
 

Next was the reinforcing band.  This was also made by cold bending and hammering the steel.  The drag ring is simply a eyelet and ring purchased from Lowe's.  I used square nuts and square lag bolts for all the hardware as hex nuts are a much later invention. 

A view from the front with the tube in place.  I've not yet fitted the cap squares at this point. Those are the half round brackets that go over the trunnions on the side of the tube.

This is the quoin bed, pronounced "coin" bed.  This is a level bed under the breech of the tube where the quoin, sometimes called a wedge is used to adjust the elevation of the tube.  You can see the groove in the quoin the matches the wood of the bed. This keeps the quoin from hopping around when the gun is fired.

I experiment with several types of axle pins.  This did NOT work as it jambed and was hard to remove. The end of the hollow axle will be filled before painting to give the appearance that it is solid iron.

 

Here is the completed gun minus paint.  Every thing is fitted except the rear bolt hole on the cap squares.  The flower type device on the side is simply a big decorative washer that I cut from sheet steel.  It reinforces the quoin transom bolt.

All the parts are fitted, so I took it all apart to paint it. I painted each piece separately and then reassembled to touch it up.

All of the iron work, ready for paint.

Here are the cheeks and iron work when I reassembled.  I used oil based paints.  We know that King's Howitzer were blue as was most American artillery at the time, because General Wayne specifically ordered "Prussian blue" for carriages.

The finished product!  Painted and back together. 
You can see close up pictures of the finished gun at this link:

http://smg.photobucket.com/user/threepdr/library/Reproduction%20Kings%20Howitzer

 The first shots from the King's Howitzer!

 

 

I've Been Away Too Long!

If you have been following this blog you know that it has been sometime since I posted.  I've been very preoccupied with putting the final touches to my new young reader's novel, seeing it into print and starting marketing process.  I've found that final step to be the most tedious and time consuming of the entire process! 

Over 42,000 people have visited this blog as of August 2014.  I'm humbled and gratified for that and I thank everyone who has visited here.  This blog will stay in place, but new blog posts, when I have time to write them, will be on my new author's website which you can find at www.mehubbs.com.

I encourage you to check my blog there from time to time, or sign up for website updates to let you know that something new has been posted.  I'm currently writing a sequel to my first book and it has already taken more of my time than I expected.

My latest book was release in July 2014.  The Archer's Son is getting great reviews and stayed #1 for a month in Amazon's Hot New Releases for Kid's Medieval Fiction.  You can read reviews or purchased at this LINK.

The Secret of Wattensaw Bayou is also on Amazon and is also available at most Books a Million stores.

1,000 Year Old Saxon Skull Shows Six Sword Wounds

This set of remains may be the only "survivor" from the battle of Hastings, 1066.  Re-blogged from the Daily Mail UK.

Does this skull belong to a soldier of the Battle of Hastings? 1,000-year-old remains found near famous battlefield reveal man was hacked six times in the head from behind

By Sarah Griffiths

Published: 08:38 EST, 22 May 2014 | Updated: 11:15 EST, 22 May 2014

The famous battle took place nearly 1,000 years ago, but the badly scarred skull of a man could be the first-ever recorded victim of the Battle of Hastings.

Battle scarred: The badly damaged skull of a man (pictured)
could be the first-ever recorded victim of the Battle of Hastings.
Experts have revealed that it belongs to a 45-year-old man
 

Experts have revealed that it belongs to a 45-year-old man who was hacked six times with a sword to the back of his head – and could provide first-hand evidence of the brutal battle of 1066.

No bones have previously been discovered of anyone who fought and died during the historic event.

The skull forms part of a skeleton that was first dug up in 1994 during excavations in Lewes, East Sussex - around 20 miles from the famous battlefield.

The skeleton, which bears the marks of battle, was found in Lewes, around 20 miles from the famous battlefield, thought to be located in Battle, East Sussex

Bones were originally sent to experts at the University of York as part of preparations to celebrate the 750th anniversary of the Battle of Lewes.

But radiocarbon testing of the remains at the University of Edinburgh dated them to 28 years either side of 1063.

Scientists believe the man was therefore likely to have been involved in fighting at the time of the Norman invasion and the Battle of Hastings.

Based upon the way he was buried, they think he was probably British.

Osteoarchaeologist Malin Holst from the University of York said: ‘The first injury was probably a cut to the right side of the ear and upper jaw.

‘This was then followed by a series of sword cuts, all delivered from the left hand side behind the victim, in a downward and horizontal motion.’

Tim Sutherland, a battlefield expert from the University of York, said: 'The skeleton is apparently unique in that it appears to be the only individual ever recorded which could be related to the Norman invasion. A remarkable new story could be unfolding.' Sword marks are easily visible on the skull (pictured)

 

The Norman invaders were thought to have buried their dead in a mass grave, but there were records of the bones of English fighters being visible on the hillsides years later.

This skeleton was found on the site of a former medieval hospital.

No bones have previously been discovered of anyone who fought and died during the historic event, so the remains of the 45-year-old (pictured) thought to have died in battle, are a first

 

Tim Sutherland, a battlefield expert from the University of York, said: ‘The skeleton is apparently unique in that it appears to be the only individual ever recorded which could be related to the Norman invasion. A remarkable new story could be unfolding.’

Edwina Livesey from the Sussex Archaeological Society described the find as ‘shocking’.

‘When I heard the news I was completely gobsmacked. It begins to paint a picture of what might have happened in the aftermath.

‘They haven’t found any grave pits of the Normans. The ground is very acidic so the bones may not have survived.’

Ms Holst said that from bone analysis they could tell that the man ate a diet rich in marine fish and was at least 45 years old.

‘He had some spinal abnormalities and suffered from chronic infection of the sinuses.

‘He showed age-related wear and tear of the joints of his spine, shoulders and left wrist, which might have been uncomfortable.

‘He had lost a few teeth during life, possibly as a result of receding gums. He had two small tumours on his skull.’

Although he was violently killed, the man had sustained some other kind of head injury up to two years before his death.

She said: ‘He had sustained an injury to the left temple which caused a blood clot to form. It was well-healed at the time of his death.’

English Heritage said: ‘This is a fascinating discovery and a potentially very interesting piece of evidence from the second half of the 11th century. It certainly demonstrates the violence of the period.

‘It would be a reasonable hypothesis that this individual could have some links to the Norman Conquest, but further research is essential in understanding the potential significance of this skeleton.’

HAROLD'S LAST STAND WAS ON THE A2100, NOT AT BATTLE ABBEY, EXPERTS CLAIM

In late 2013, experts claimed that King Harold died with an arrow in his eye not at the site of Battle Abbey (which has a dedicated vistor's centre - but on a spot that is now a roundabout on the A2100.

Archaeologists from Channel 4's Time team excavated grounds around the Abbey and the other site proposed by historian John Grehan.

They found no evidence that either place was where the army of William the Conqueror triumphed over the forces of Harold, the English King.

Using aerial laser imaging, Time Team then mapped the terrain - on the basis of which a group of experts agreed that the most likely location for the battle was a roundabout joining Upper and Lower Lake in the town of Battle.

Time Team said the mapping had ‘proved’ that the traditional battlefield - on the land directly below the Abbey - would have been too boggy for William’s cavalry.

‘Military analysts studied the data to see where Harold, a skilled commander, would most probably have mounted his defence,’ explained a Channel 4 spokesman.

‘They identified the only ideal battlefield. It seems Harold’s fearsome Saxon shield wall straddled a narrow strategic pass that is on today’s A2100.’

A new battle: In late 2013, experts claimed that King Harold died with an arrow in his eye not at the site of Battle Abbey (which has a dedicated vistor's centre - but on a spot that is now a roundabout on the A2100

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2636252/Does-skull-belong-victim-Battle-Hastings-1-000-year-old-remains-near-battlefield-reveal-man-hacked-six-times-sword.html#ixzz32TbkGIky