Celtic Swords
Celtic swords were found to be made as early as the 5th Century B.C. and were often made out of iron. There were two types of Celtic swords - the long sword and the short sword. The long Celtic sword had a hilt that was sometimes made of material such as bone or animal horn and were sometimes as long as 70 cm in length. The smaller short Celtic sword had a hilt typically made of copper alloy. Two iron plates usually formed the scabbard with front plates that were made mostly of iron, but sometime of bronze. Celtic swords were usually worn from an iron link belt during warfare.
Even though the Celts were well-practiced iron smiths, current analysis of antique Celtic swords were found that the iron was not quenched, but instead hammered, more like the previous bronze swords. This type of tempering made them quite weak and swords are found by archaeologists today that are bent. There is one recorded battle that stated the swords bent on the first hit and then had to be straighted by using the foot to bend it back against the ground. The Celtic sword eventually transformed into the Roman gladius and Germanic swords.
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