Таштыкский меч

Abstract

In 1962, an iron sword entered the funds of the Khakass Museum of Local Lore. It was discovered under random circumstances in the vicinity of the Podsinee village (currently a suburb of the city of Abakan). Yu.S. Khudyakov attributed the sword to the Tashtyk culture and gave a brief description of its size. According to the classifi cation, the sword is in Group I — rhombic, type 1 — with an emphasis for the plate crosshair. An analysis of weapons rare for the Tashtyk culture made it possible to supplement its description and make a number of clarifications. The sword is forged from a strip of iron, including a triangular crosshair. Forge welding was not used, traces of processing with abrasives are not fixed. The blade is straight, at the crosshairs it tapers, the cross section of the blade is rhombic, turning into a lenticular. The handle is rectangular, the end is broken, but presumably it ended with a small hook.With a total length of 53 cm, it is close to the size of «small» swords, and in terms of blade length it meets the standards of akinak. The weight of the sword is 830 grams, the main weight falls on the hilt and crosshairs. This is a weapon of a foot warrior; due to its small size it is not effective for combat use by a mounted warrior. Testing has shown that for thrusting, the index finger is placed over the crosshair, which allows for better control of the blade. In our opinion, the sword is of imported origin.