Notes on a Scythian Sword and an Iron Pitchfork Found in the Akçadağ-Nurhak Mountains

Abstract

The district of Akçadağ is located to the west and southwest of the Malatya Plain and covers the northeast extension of the Nurhak Mountains. During the 2021 survey of Bronze Age and Iron Age settlements in Malatya Province, an iron sword and an iron pitchfork were handed over to the research team in Akçadağ. They were allegedly recovered by a villager from a pit dug for the construction of a sewer in the village of Bekiruşağı. The iron sword represents a very unique example in Anatolia in terms of blade, hilt, and pommel form. It bears significant similarities with the Scythian-type swords found in the Caucasus and Eurasian steppes dated to the late Early Scythian period and early Middle Scythian period. The XRF analysis of the Nurhak sword and the iron pitchfork contain high levels of palladium and point to a mineral resource outside Anatolia, most likely in the Ural Mountains. The Scythian-type iron sword and iron pitchfork are of importance for highlighting military, political, and cultural relations between the Scythians and the Near Eastern world, and for a reevaluation of Scythian expansion areas and transit routes in Anatolia.

Keywords

• Scythian swords
• Akçadağ
• Nurhak sword
• pitchfork
• Iron Age

References

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