military headquarters. Th ere are a few scenes from the Old
and Middle Kingdom (ca. 2575–ca. 1640 b.c.e.) that depict
bows and spear shaft s being smoothed and others that show
arrows. From the New Kingdom (ca. 1550–ca. 1070 b.c.e.)
there is much pictorial evidence showing various techniques
used in weapons manufacture. Scenes include a craft sman
straightening the shaft of a spear over a fi re aft er wetting it
from a cup of water beside him, a bow being tested for resil-
ience, arrows being made, metal helmets being weighted, bow
cases being sewn up with an awl (a pointed tool for punching
holes), and an arrow being checked for straightness by one
workman while a second uses an adze (a bladed tool) to plane
out another arrow resting on his knees.
A letter sent by Dhutmose, a scribe who was on a military
m ission i n Nubia , to h is son, Buteha mu n, t he scr ibe of t he Ne-
cropolis at Deir el-Medina, requests “fresh supplies of copper
spear-heads” made by the local coppersmiths as well as spare
parts for war chariots, new material for clothing, and old ma-
terial “for bandages,” a rare sign of concern for the wounded.
Several New Kingdom tombs include representations of car-
penters, joiners, and leather workers, all working on a chariot
together. In addition to wood, they required large amounts of
leather for fastening parts together, covering the body, tiring
the wheels, and making reins, blinkers, and bits.
During the New Kingdom the Egyptians imported
highly developed weapons from the Near East and adopted
Near Eastern military technology. Th ere is perhaps some evi-
dence that non-Egyptian craft smen participated in weapons
manufacture. Bows and arrows, the most important long-
range weapons, can be dated to the Late Paleolithic Period
(ca. 12,000–10,000 b.c.e.). During the Second Intermediate
Period (1640–1532 b.c.e.) the composite bow was introduced
from the Near East. It was made from laminated wood, horn,
and sinew and had a much improved range and power. It had
an eff ective range of 500 to 600 feet, and an exceptional shot
could attain a distance of 1,500 feet. Because of the laminate
construction of composite bows, they were sensitive to heat
and moisture and thus were usually stored in cases. Two types
of cases have been discovered from New Kingdom Egypt:
One was carried, and the other was attached to the body of a
war chariot. Th ey could be made of leather or wood and were
sometimes ornamented.
Handheld stabbing weapons can be traced to Paleolithic
times. Th e earliest artistic representation of a spear is on the
Hunters Palette. Spears were regularly used in military con-
texts in later times as well. For example, the Egyptian sol-
diers on Hatshepsut’s (r. 1473–1458 b.c.e.) mission to Punt
are shown carrying spears and shields on the Deir el-Bahri
reliefs, as are troops following Tutankhamun (r. 1333–1323
b.c.e.) as he drives his chariot on the “painted box.” Some of
the Near Eastern men in the Beni Hasan tomb painting carry
spears, and the Shasu Bedouin in the Seti I (r. 1306–1290
b.c.e.) reliefs at Karnak brandish spears and axes against
Egyptian forces. Spears were ideal defensive weapons in siege
warfare.A spear with much longer shaft , known as a lance, is illus-
trated in siege scenes from the Middle Kingdom Beni Hasan
tombs. In these scenes a portable defensive structure covers
a group of soldiers who attack a fortifi ed city with a large
lance, in the manner of a battering ram. Maces with mace
heads of varying form were the most powerful weapons of
close combat in the Predynastic Period (before roughly 3000
b.c.e.). In the Late Period (712–332 b.c.e.) and into Greco-Ro-
man times (332 b.c.e.–395 c.e.) kings are shown brandishing
maces in the head-smiting motif on temple walls. Disc- and
oval-shaped mace heads are found in the Naqada I and II pe-
riods of the Predynastic Period. Th ese shapes continued to be
used through pharaonic history and beyond. Th e mace (and
club) probably had a more ceremonial function aft er the Old
Kingdom, despite Th utmose III’s (r. 1479–1425 b.c.e.) boast
on the Gebel Barkal stela regarding his victories in the Near
East: “It was my mace which overthrew the Asiatics, my club
which smote the Nine Bows.”
Th e earliest form of ax was the handheld implement from
Paleolithic times. When the stone blade was fi rst affi xed to a
handle is not known, but at that point of development the ax
became a deadly weapon. During the Old Kingdom copper
blades were introduced. Th e ax blades were long and rounded
and continued to be used during the Middle Kingdom. Th e
duck-bill blade is the ax shown in the tomb of Khnumhotep
at Beni Hasan. In two Old Kingdom battle scenes the ax is
used by Egyptian soldiers to repel their enemies and to hack
up the city wall. In the New Kingdom the blade is much more
narrowly shaped.
Swords and daggers were of great military importance
throughout Egypt’s history. Th ese weapons are similar in con-
struction but diff erent in length and usage. A sword is gener-
ally defi ned as longer than 16 inches, and a dagger is shorter.
Th e Th ird Dynasty relief of King Sekhemkhet (r. ca. 2611–ca.
2603 b.c.e.) at Wadi Maghara (Sinai) shows a dagger tucked in
the monarch’s belt. Th ese early daggers were made of copper
and had no midrib (thickening down the middle for added
strength). Th e dagger’s usefulness as a weapon would have
been in hand-to-hand combat. As copper gave way to bronze
in the third millennium b.c.e., daggers in Egypt evolved into
swords. Preserved examples from the Middle Kingdom re-
semble the daggers of earlier periods. However, swords were
not commonly used in Egypt until the New Kingdom, when
longer, double-edged swords were introduced from Anatolia.
Shields were the oldest means of defense and were made
of wood covered with leather. Th ey were used fi rst by infantry.
In the New Kingdom they were held by drivers of war chari-
ots, to protect the archers standing beside them. Th e tomb
of Tutankhamun contained wooden shields, some of which
had leather or animal skins over them. Combining wood and
leather made the shield a more eff ective defensive tool, and
a metal protective surface was especially useful against ar-
rows fi red from composite bows. Helmets appeared in the
Eighteenth Dynasty (ca. 1550–ca. 1307 b.c.e.), when some
troops acquired helmets of bronze or leather in imitation ofweaponry and armor: Egypt 11630895-1194_Soc&Culturev4(s-z).i1163 1163 10/10/07 2:31:18 PM