RECONSTRUCTING THE WARRIORS OF THE BRONZE AGE        What, still have time and money left?  Okay, let's move back a few hundred years!  The dates of the Bronze Age vary depending on the region, but in Greece and the Aegean we're talking roughly 3000 to 900 BC.  It's the Age of Heroes, the Trojan War, Homer's Iliad and Odyssey, Jason and the Argonauts, Theseus and the Minotaur, and the great Mycenaean and Minoan civilizations.  Not to mention Egypt, Sumeria, the Hittites, and other fascinating folks.  This page has photos of my clothing and stuff owned by other folks, a Links section, and a Bibliography at the end.  Armor and Weapons now have their own pages.  Don't expect a lot of depth or detail, here, I'm just dabbling in this period but wanted to show off some toys.  Enjoy!        This page last updated 11/27/13

STUFF that I have so far, Projects in Progress, Other Peoples' Toys, etc.

--Obviously, you want to click on the little images to see the bigger ones.  Top priority is a Mycenaean/Achaean impression from the Late Bronze Age--think Trojan War or thereabouts.  This is Greece before it was called Greece!

	My first reconstruction of the Warrior Vase figures.  The blue (wool) tunic and yellow (linen) kilt with red fringe follow the coloration of the Warrior Stele.  The horned helmet still needs a horsehair crest.  The shield should probably be crescent-shaped and made of wood, rather than round and wicker.  The cuirass is based on European examples.  The bronze greaves are from Kalithea, while the white linen ones are just one possible interpretation of the pictoral evidence.  The object hanging from the spearshaft is reconstructed here as a leather flask (here's a detail).  The dotted kilt and mysterious ladder-like strips shown on the Vase have been omitted, with a big shrug!  There are many different ways to interpret the various details!
	A Peleset or Philistine warrior from the Medinet Habu reliefs, commonly refered to as the "Sea People".   The "feather helmet" was a committee effort, myself and Gregory Liebau.  The distinctive clothing is interpreted here as a narrow (linen) tunic with the lower half parti-colored and decorated with striped linen bands.  It could easily be showing a shirt and kilt of some sort, however.  Round shields with multiple bosses are clearly shown, and these shield fittings are based on the Kaloriziki finds.  The sword is a Naue type II, but might better be a thrusting rapier or type G stabbing sword.
	Curse you, Ramses!  One of the invaders captured by the Egyptians, shown in this relief (reproduced without permission from Yigael Yadin's Art of Warfare in Biblical Lands).  A better view of the spiffy tunic.  At several points there are little yarn tassels of red, white, and blue--here's a close-up.  The belt is leather with a linen backing and edging, secured with a simple bronze hook (detail view).  Each prisoner in the line wears his nation's distinctive clothing, and has his arms bound in a different way.  The Peleset gets off lightly, with some sort of handcuffs.  Mine are wood, secured with leather thongs.
	This is a Mycenaean, probably a little earlier than the Warrior Vase.  The tunic, shoes, linen greaves, and boar tusk helmet are based on the Pylos frescoes and other artwork.  The spear and sword come from archeological examples.  The cuirass and shield are a bit more conjectural for this impression, coming from more distant finds.

My second interpretation of the Warrior Vase.  The new tunic (linen, because I had some) is trimmed with red wool, with the ladder effect done in black wool yarn.  The shield is wood planks covered with rawhide.  No armor this time, and the dots on the lower part of the tunic are ignored with another big shrug!  The rest is the same, except that I've added the horsehair plume to the helmet.  4/20/07

	Marching Through Time, April 14, 2007!  I am joined by Dan Zeidler (left) as a Mycenaean, and Nate Bell as an Irish warrior, with a mix of their own stuff and mine and Steve Peffley's.  We had piles of weapons, shields, and animal hides, a lovely awning with stools and food, and we chatted with a few hundred visitors through the day.  Good event!
	A reenactment of the famous vase paintings of Achilles and Ajax gaming while Athena tries to get them to go fight the Trojans.  Dan made an Egyptian senet board on a piece of stone countertop, and a shield on my basket makes a good table.  Athena is Deb Fuller of Legio XX.  Also a better shot of me in my Urnfield gear, complete with fuzzy deerhide shoes.

Romulus, the Founder of Rome, at Roman Days, June 2010.  My Villanovan impression, with the classic crested helmet and the "poncho" cuirass from Narce.  See the Armor page for more details on the helmet and cuirass.  The tunic is striped linen, the spearhead was made by Chris Levatino, and the sword is the Witham antenna hilt from Neil Burridge.        My Romulus impression can now be seen on its own page, http://www.larp.com/hoplite/Romulus.html

This tunic is based on those found in the oak coffin mound burials at Muldbjerg and Trindhoj, Denmark.  The belt is fastened with the bone ring shown below.  The two spearheads were made by Neil Burridge.  And the feet are original equipment!

        More details can be found on the Armor and Weapons pages.  My interests are all over the map, and you'll find bits and pieces from a number of other eras and places.   I like Britain, and there is excellent information from Denmark.  Sumeria is also way cool, and eventually I'll work my way around to Italy and Sardinia.

CLOTHING

The earlier Mycenaean tunic is copied from frescoes from Pylos.  It seems to be very similar to a Roman tunica, with short sleeves, but pretty short and not as baggy.  The most common color shown for men is white, with a black stripe along the top and side seams.  I'm hoping to find evidence for other colors, since I wear white/undyed tunics with my Roman gear and it would be nice to be different.   The tunic is often belted at the waist but not always.

Mycenaean shoes are shown as being openwork in a square grid pattern.  These are based on a Roman shoe pattern, with a more pointed toe.  The toes curl up nicely, just like in the frescoes.  The square holes were cut with a chisel that I ground out of an old screwdriver.  Larger holes would be more sane!  The uppers are about 5-ounce, sewn to 9-ounce soles.

	Bone belt rings are apparently pretty common in Early Bronze Age Britain.  This is just a slice from a dog chew bone, rasped and filed to shape.  The hole for attaching it to the belt is actually a V-perforation, all the rage back then.  The belt itself is just a strip of calf hide, gradually tapering down to about half an inch wide so that it can be tied through the ring.  4/07

       Here are some reconstructions of Bronze Age Danish clothing, http://www.guderoggrave.dk/tema/mandsdragt.htm and http://www.guderoggrave.dk/tema/kvindedragt.htm.  (Thanks, Jeroen!  And for this one: http://membres.lycos.fr/bronzeage/burials/index.html)

       Bronze Age Center thread on Information on North-west European Clothing, http://z8.invisionfree.com/Bronze_Age_Center/index.php?showtopic=27 

A belt pouch copied from that found in an oak coffin burial at Hvidegard, Denmark.  It has a zipper!  Two rows of leather loops mesh together and are secured by the bronze pin.  It works quite well--easy to open and close, and very secure.  Length is about 7 inches.

This little "dagger" or utility knife is based on those found in Wessex culture graves, Early Bronze Age Britain.  It's about half the size of most of those that I have dimensions for, but at least one even smaller one is known.  And that's the size of the piece of copper I had for the blade!  The handle is yew, the pommel antler.

Aren't these cute?  Brass reproductions of Mycenaean gold cups from Vaphio, probably museum gift shop items.  My sister Katy picked them up at a flea market or something, and I browbeat her into giving them to me.  They are about 2-1/2 inches high, teacup-sized.  If there is one thing you need for reenacting, it's something to drink out of!

And something to sit on!  This is based on the folding stool found in the oak coffin in Guldhoj, Denmark.  Being limited by the wood I had on hand (old flagpoles), I didn't quite capture the shapes of the parts exactly.  And the seat is just leather, not otter skin!  But the decoration, punched with small chisels, came out nicely.  And it works!  2/7/07

This stool is actually based on a bed preserved from Thera, as shown in Connolly's book.  It's just pine with hardwood dowels, painted pale yellow, and about 16 inches tall.  Quite comfy, even better with a cushion.  4/20/07

       Photos below are courtesy of, and copyright by, the items' owners.

	This is Dan Howard in a preliminary photo of the GORGEOUS reconstruction of the Dendra panoply which he got from Andrew Walpole.   Total weight of the armor is about 50 pounds, though the original was probably a little thinner in places and therefore lighter.  The boar tusk helmet was one of the most popular helmets of the Mycenaean period--pieces have been found on numerous sites, and there are many depictions in artwork of the time.   For a photo of the original armor, click here.   And here is a photo of Mr. Walpole in his armor a few years ago.
	The late Michael Kasner of Portland, Oregon, with his reconstruction of a helmet based partly on the one from Tiryns.  It came out too small and shallow, but is nice work anyway.  August 1998.
	Bronze Age swords in the British Museum (1984).  It's a safe guess that the third one from the top is made for slashing!  Couldn't tell you where or when they are from--still have a lot to learn!   (Lousy picture, too, sorry about that.  The "sub-space distortion" between the top 2 blades is my attempt to blur out the big camera flash glare.)
	Bronze Age axeheads and other weapons in the British Museum.  The Egyptians prefered the tanged styles, while other countries made them socketed like the four "eye-axes" in the middle (18th century BC).  Top right, two duck-billed axes (17th to 16th centuries).  Left, looks like tanged spearheads, and below them possibly spearheads or dagger blades (hey, even the archeologists can't always be sure!).  At the very bottom seems to be 3 flat or palstave axeheads.
	Bronze shield made by Chris Levatino.  Types like this were used in Italy, the British Isles, and other areas in the late bronze age and early iron age.
	"West Alpine" cuirass owned by Jon Fletcher, made by Noricum Replikate (see Links below).  Fabulous work!  Also views of the back and side, and a detail of the shoulder fastening.

	Mycenaean sword c. 1080-950 BC, 17.5" long.  Very similar to one shown in  Die Schwerter in Griechenland (ausserhalb der Peloppes), Bulgarien und Albanien by Imma Kilian-Dirlmeier (Prahistorische Bronzefunde series Abteilung IV, 12. Band), Tafel (Plate) 17		"Crescent Axes were used from Syria to Egypt and have also been found in Canaan. The top axe is Syrian, the bottom is Egyptian. Both date to about 1900 (sic) BC and can be considered Early Middle Bronze Age."
	"Lugged axes in Canaan based upon Anatolian models manufactured by the Hittites in a Palestine colony are documented in the literature."		"Here are some Canaanite daggers. They are not rare and many are available for less than $100."
	"The earliest socketed axes were of the Eye and Duckbill styles followed by the Chisel Point axes."

A few of Steve Peffley's toys.  First is his copy of the wood and leather shield from Clonbrin, Ireland, less than 2 feet in diameter.  It has the classic V- or U-notch configuration.  The second shield is based on the bronze one from Lough Gur, closer to 3 feet across.  At far right, a dagger and three of Albion's axe heads.  That at bottom is flat, the other two are palstave types, with the hafting done by Steve.

       Michael Broyles sends these photos of some of his projects.  The sword and spear are from Bronze Age Foundry, the mace is from Manning Imperial, and the Egyptian shield and linen armor that he made himself.
 

LINKS--Where to get Stuff

Neil Burridge--Teaches COURSES on bronze casting using accurate historical methods! 
http://www.bronze-age-swords.com/
http://www.bronze-age-craft.com/ 
http://www.bronze-age-craft.com/swordcasting.htm 
He makes some of the best bronze weapons available:
http://www.bronze-age-craft.com/swords_for_sale.htm 
http://www.bronze-age-craft.com/products.htm 
Arrowheads!  http://www.bronze-age-swords.com/aegean_swords.htm, bottom of the page.

**Or finish and hilt your own sword at Neil's annual Bronze Sword Festival, http://www.bronze-age-craft.com/Bronze-Sword-Festival.htm 

Warrior Art Online--Chris Levatino, New York.  http://www.warriorartonline.com  .  As well as excellent sculpture, he also produces a number of lovely bronze weapons.  He says his blades are still coming out a little heavy, but he is refining his techniques constantly and they are always improving. 

Bronze Age Foundry--Dave Chapman, c/o 19 Holmwood Gdns, Finchley, London, N3 3NS, UK.  http://www.bronzeagefoundry.com/.  Very accurate weapons and other items, and great prices.  Weapons are sold unfinished (rough from the mold) and without shafts or hilts.

John Mainwaring--Hampshire, UK, mainwaring AT talktalk DOT net.  No website, but a few samples of his lovely work shown at right.

Dean Cunningham, Metalsmith--Portland, OR.  satans_lackey AT ya hoo DOT com.  He and his assistant Geoffrey Withcliff are considering making a number of Bronze Age items, so call and bug them!

Noricum Replikate, Germany--Fabulous Late Bronze Age reproductions
http://www.noricum.de/ 

Manning Imperial--Craig Sitch, PO Box 27 Redan, Vic Australia 3350.  Phone 03 5338 8995, http://manningimperial.com. Has done bronze spear heads and buttspikes, and now has a duck-billed axe ("Canaanite"), mace heads, and an Egyptian khopesh.

Replik--Ringstr. 2, 61130 Nidderau 5, Germany, http://www.replik.de/.  Beautiful reproduction spear and axe heads, jewelry, and more.

Irish Arms-- Boyd Rankin & Lynne Williams, Red House Farm, Claddagh, Ballyjamesduff, Co. Cavan, Ireland.  Phone: +353 49 8545856, http://www.irisharms.ie/.  Bronze axe and spearheads, jewelry, etc.

HReplikate-- Holger Ratsdorf, Germany. http://www.hr-replikate.de/.  Fabulous reproductions of  weapons, jewelry, and more.  His site takes a little digging to get through, but click "English" first, then head for the Katalog, go for Bronze Age, and click through the various item categories.

Haphaestos Armoury--Tim Mayhew, UK.  t.mayhew AT btopenworld DOT com.  Bronze Age Greek, Mycenaean, and Scythian, plus Roman and Celtic

Native Way--Small bronze javelin points and tanged spearheads, a bit rough but cheap, http://www.nativewayonline.com/.  Socketed points 3" long, largest tanged spearhead c. 5" long including tang.

http://moundbuilderbooks.com/ --Flintknapping and primitive technology

OnlineMetals.com --"The Small Quantities Specialist" --PO Box 19271, Seattle, WA 98109.  800-704-2157, or 206-285-8603.  http://www.onlinemetals.com/.  Brass sheet and tube, shim brass (.010", .015", etc.) in rolls 6"x100", etc.  Specializing in small orders.

Anchor Bronze & Metals, Inc. - 11470 Euclid Avenue #509, Cleveland, Ohio 44106. Fax: 216-803-1151, http://www.anchorbronze.com/.  A wide variety of tin bronzes available, including real tin bronzes such as copper alloy no. C90700.

Atlas Bronze--445 Bunting Ave., Trenton, NJ 08611.  Toll-free: 877-554-0443.  http://www.atlasbronze.com/.  Real tin bronzes in cast bar form!  Other alloys in bar or sheet.

T.B. Hagstoz & Son--http://www.hagstoz.com/.  Bronze and copper sheet in several thicknesses, and more.

ThyssenKrupp Copper and Brass Sales--http://www.copperandbrass.com/public/division/project/html/home.html 

MonsterSlayer-- http://www.monsterslayer.com/.  Red brass sheet and wire (also silver, yellow brass, and copper), plus jewelry-making tools and supplies

Moscow Hide and Fur--PO Box 8918, Moscow, Idaho 83843.  208-882-0601, fax: 208-882-5715.  http://www.hideandfur.com/  Leather, hides, BOARS' TEETH, ETC.

Boone Trading Company--PO Box 669, 562 Coyote Rd., Brinnon, WA 98320.  1-800-423-1945, http://www.boonetrading.com/index.html.   BOAR TUSKS listed under "Misc. Raw Materials".  Also ivory and other materials.

Antlers Unlimited--World's largest selection of antler's.
http://www.antlersunlimited.com 

Wild Boar Reserve--http://www.BigTusks.com.  Boar tusks.

(For other armorers and suppliers of various materials, see the Legio XX Suppliers page.)

--Yes, Deepeeka in India is now offering some Mycenaean and other Greek items.  I have not seen them up close so can only judge by the photos, but I wouldn't get too excited!  Presumably their swords are the usual triple weight.   Their Dendra panoply seems to be reasonably accurate in shape, but rumored to be fiberglass.  (And why that odd color?)  Probably "one size fits few", as well.  Their figure-8 shield (whatever they call it) is also good in basic outline, but the cowhide pattern is painted on and the spine looks bad.  What is it made out of, and how deep is it?  Their boar tusk helmet (labeled "boser" helmet, for some reason) just doesn't grab me.  The shape seems wrong, and no idea what those tusks are made out of.  They also offer the icky gray shield and helmet worn by Brad Pitt in "Troy"--too bad, since the dipylon shield is actually pretty nice in outline and would look good if brightly painted or faced with polished bronze.

LINKS--Where to get Information

Bronze Age Center--A discussion forum just for us!
http://s8.invisionfree.com/Bronze_Age_Center/index.php?

Forum for Ancient Reenacting--Mostly Roman and Greek, but a great board anyway!  http://ancientreenacting.proboards.com/ 

Bronze Age Reenacting Yahoo group, http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ageofbronze

Bronze Age Living in the Netherlands, by Jeroen Zuiderwijk--http://1501bc.com/index_en.html.  Also his photographs from various museums, http://1501bc.com/page/index2.html, and from Archeon, an Archeological theme park in the Netherlands--http://1501bc.com/page/.  Photographic report of Jeroen's visit to the National Museum (National Museet) in Kopenhagen, July 2003, http://membres.lycos.fr/bronzeage/ 

The Chicago Homer--Multilingual searchable database--http://www.library.northwestern.edu/homer/ 

"Whither and Whence the Sea Peoples?" by Jon Smyth, on the Bronze Age Center board
http://z8.invisionfree.com/Bronze_Age_Center/index.php?showtopic=117 

Timeless Myths: The Trojan War--http://www.timelessmyths.com/classical/trojanwar.html 

Troia Project--http://www.uni-tuebingen.de/troia/eng/neues.html

Archaeological Sewing--http://www.heatherrosejones.com/archaeologicalsewing/ 

The Armies of Sumer and Akkad, 3500-2200 BC--http://www.au.af.mil/au/awc/awcgate/gabrmetz/gabr0004.htm

Treasures from the Royal Tombs of Ur--The Oriental Institute Museum, Chicago
http://oi.uchicago.edu/OI/UR/Curator_Notes.html 

Tour of Egypt pages on "Sea Peoples", etc., with a few errors or debatable points, http://touregypt.net/featurestories/seapeople.htm

Egyptian Weapons--http://www.digitalegypt.ucl.ac.uk/tools/weapons.html 

John Piscopo--Unfortunately, John died in July 2005.  He was a collector with many bronze weapons and good information.  His Yahoo discussion groups are still active, http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ancientweapons, and http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ancientartifacts.

Trewortha Bronze Age Farm--http://www.templeresearch.eclipse.co.uk/bronze/trewortha_farm.htm

Bronze Casting at Trewortha Farm, by Jeroen Zuiderwijk-- http://mitglied.lycos.de/tgrb/bronze_casting_Threwortha_farm_26_28_maart_2003/

Archeology at Durrington Walls, near Stonehenge
http://www.shef.ac.uk/archaeology/research/stonehenge 

Flag Fen--Britain's Bronze Age Center
http://www.flagfen.com/

Saveock Water Archaeology--Jacqui Wood's Neolithic archeology and reconstruction, etc.
http://www.archaeologyonline.org/ 

Sumerian Texts, transliterated and translated--http://etcsl.orinst.ox.ac.uk/edition2/etcslbycat.php 

A Woman's Burial from Wessex, http://www.templeresearch.eclipse.co.uk/bronze/wessex_b.htm 

"Der Salzherr von Hallstatt"--http://www.hallstattzeit.de/.  Reconstruction of a Hallstatt-era Warrior.  GORGEOUS stuff, if a tad late for this.

Prehistoric Music Ireland--Bronze Age Horns
http://homepage.eircom.net/~bronzeagehorns/ 

Backyard Metalcasting--http://www.backyardmetalcasting.com/index.html.  Lots of great information!

http://www.copper.org/ --"Everything you ever wanted to know about copper and its alloys."

Truetype Fonts by Curtis Clark, including Linear B!  http://www.mockfont.com/old/ 

Which Homeric Hero are You?  http://film.guardian.co.uk/quiz/questions/0,5952,1214346,00.html 

Åstrom, Paul.  The Cuirass Tomb and Other Finds at Dendra, Part I: The Chamber Tombs.  Studies in Mediterranean Archaeology, Vol. IV.  Goteborg, Sweden, 1977.  ISBN 91 85058 03 3.  Excellent photos of each piece of the armor found there, including some close-up shots, drawings, and descriptions.  Not to mention all the pottery and other items found in the tombs!

Avila, Robert A.J.  Bronzene Lanzen- und Pfeilspitzen der Griechischen Spaetbronzezeit (Praehistorische Bronzefunde, Abteilung V, Band 1).  Munich: C.H. Beck'sche Verlagsbuchhandlung.  Text in German.  The various volumes of the "PBF" series are not cheap and can be hard to find, but have tons of scale drawings of weapons and more.  Try Buch und Kunstversandhandel, http://www.antikmakler.de/catalog/index.php.

Barber, E.J.W.  Prehistoric Textiles: The Development of Cloth in the Neolithic and Bronze Ages.  Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1991.  ISBN 0-691-00224-X.

Barber, Martyn.  Bronze and the Bronze Age: Metalwork and Society in Britain c. 2500-800 BC.  Stroud: Tempus Publishing, 2003.  ISBN 0-7524-2507-2.

Colquhoun, Ian.  The Swords of Britain (Praehistorische Bronzefunde series).  1988.  ISBN 3406305008.  Best information available on the Ewart Park style of sword.

Connolly, Peter.  The Ancient Greece of Odysseus.  Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1998.  ISBN 0-19-910532-4.  Chock-full of great info, in his usual lavishly illustrated style.  An excellent starter book, and only about $12!

___________.   Greece and Rome at War. London: Greenhill Books, 1998.  ISBN 185367303X.  The best Bronze Age info is actually at the start of the section on Rome.

___________.  The Greek Armies.  London: MacDonald Educational, 1977.  ISBN 0-382-06308-2.  A little Mycenaean stuff at the beginning, but mostly Classical and Hellenistic.

Demakopoulou, Katie, et al.  Gods and Heroes of the European Bronze Age.  London: Thames and Hudson, Ltd, 1999.  ISBN 0-500-019150.  Published to accompany a multi-national museum exhibit, and includes a catalog of the artifacts in that exhibit.  Each chapter is on a different subject, with color photos of many of the objects.

Dickinson, Oliver.  The Aegean Bronze Age.  Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1994.  ISBN 0 521 45664 9.  Not exactly a light read, but a good overview of the subject.

Drews, Robert.  The End of the Bronze Age: Changes in Warfare and the Catastrophe of 1200 B.C.  Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1993.  ISBN 0-691-04811-8.   This blows away all kinds of myths that I didn't even know were myths!  A fascinating view of the flaws of modern scholarship as well as a pivotal era in ancient history.  However, Mike Kasner warns that Drews' military knowledge is very flawed, and Barry Molloy also recommends skepticism.

Glob, P.V.  The Mound People: Danish Bronze-Age Man Preserved.  Translated from the Danish by Joan Bulman.  Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press, 1974.  ISBN 0-8014-0800-8.  Wonderful and very readable!  Fascinating finds from burial mounds.

Grguric, Nicolas.  The Mycenaeans, c. 1650-1100 BC.  Osprey Elite Series #130.  Oxford: Osprey Publishing, 2005.  ISBN 1-84176-897-9.  Illustrated by Angus McBride.  Long-awaited but a little disappointing.  Like most any Osprey book, it is much too short for the subject, and I found McBride's illustrations to be lacking in some technical details.  However, it does show a couple new pieces of pictoral evidence, and has a fascinating section on clothing and other items mentioned in the Linear B tablets.

Harding, A.F.  European Societies in the Bronze Age.  Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2000.  ISBN 0 521 36729 8

*James, Peter.  Centuries of Darkness.  London: Jonathan Cape, 1991.  ISBN 0-224-02647-X.  ESSENTIAL READING!!  Brings a crashing end to the years of shaky theories of "Dark Ages" riddling the chronologies of 3 continents, all based on the obviously flawed Egyptian "King List".  Now, all dates before 950 BC can be reduced by at least 250 years, bringing continuity and sense to the end of the Bronze Age.  (Also see this site's Chronology page.)

Kilian-Dirlmeier, Imma.  Die Schwerter in Greichenland (ausserhalb der Peloponnes), Bulgarien und Albanien (Praehistorische Bronzefunde, Abteilung IV, Band 12).  Stuttgart: Franz Steiner Verlag, 1993.  Text in German, but look at all the swords!  Amazing cross-sections, too.

Mohen, Jean-Pierre, and Eluere, Christiane.  The Bronze Age in Europe.  New York: Harry N. Abrams, Inc., 2000.  ISBN 0-8109-2882-5.  Small but inexpensive and colorful paperback with lots of illustrations.

Osgood, RIchard; Monks, Sarah; and Toms, Judith. Bronze Age Warfare.  Sutton Publishing, 2000.  ISBN 0-7509-2363-6.  Has some great information and photos that I have not seen before, particularly for areas outside the Aegean.  BUT the authors are convinced that all the bronze armor that has been found must be for "parade wear"!  Sorry, but this just doesn't flush.  Recent experiments with accurately constructed items show that the armor is very resistant to weapons.

Snodgrass, AM.  Arms and Armour of the Greeks.  London: Thames and Hudson, 1967 (Revised 1999). ISBN 0-8018-6073-3.  Also deals mainly with the Classical and later periods, but some Bronze Age info, too.  I think his armor weight estimates are too high.

Warren, Peter.  The Aegean Civilizations: From Ancient Crete to Mycenae, 2nd ed.  Oxford: Phaidon Press LTD, 1989.  ISBN 0 7148 2471 2.  Filled with color photographs, plans, etc.

Warry, John.  Warfare in the Classical World.  New York: St. Martin's Press, 1980.  ISBN 0-312-85614-8.  As with Connolly, a great starter book but focuses mainly on Classical and later periods.

Wood, Michael.  In Search of the Trojan War.  Berkeley: University of California Press, 1998.  ISBN 0-520-21599-0.  Excellent and balanced story of the discovery of Troy and the debates about the truth behind the legends.

Yadin, Yigael.  The Art of Warfare in Biblical Lands.  New York : McGraw-Hill, 1963.  A two-volume set, focusing on the Middle East and Egypt but touching other cultures as well, starting from the late Stone Age.  Filled with illustrations and fascinating analyses of ancient texts.

And of course Homer's Iliad and Odyssey are essential reading!  (I'm partial to the translations by Richmond Lattimore.)  There is also The Voyage of Argo, by Apollonius of Rhodes, available in a Penguin translation.

       Bronze Age reenacting, while growing, is still a relatively small and obscure part of the reenacting world.  (Go figure!)   There are a few suppliers of weapons, but anything else you want is going to have to be custom-made.  If you have something you'd like to show off, or a link I don't know about, please let me know and I'll add it to my page.

       And with the usual conclusion, I will not make this stuff for you!  Sorry, it is REALLY cool and I'd love to build it all day long, but reality intervenes.  Enjoy the website, though, and help yourself to the information, but keep half a mind on copyright courtesies and don't try to use it for profit.  In other words, copyright Matthew R. Amt, 2002, except for those photos and other bits contributed by other folks (in which case they hold the copyrights).  I live in Laurel, MD (USA), phone 301-362-3574, matthew_amt AT yahoo DOT com  (Be sure to put something  distinctive in the subject line of your email, or it might get deleted as spam!).