Two Iron Swords from the lower course of the South Morava

Abstract

The paper analyses two iron swords that represent chance finds from the valley plains between the present-day cities of Niš and Aleksinac, within the lower course of the South Morava river. Both examples are well preserved double-edged swords utilised during two different periods. The first sword belongs to the collection of the Hometown Museum in Aleksinac. It was discovered during gravel extraction on the left bank of the South Morava river, between the villages of Lužane and Tešica. Without a doubt, the sword represents an early Celtic type, positioned into the LT B2/C1 period, based on existing analogies, or the end of the 4th and the beginning of the 3rd century BC. The other sword comes from the collection of the National Museum in Niš, where it was stored as a chance find from the village of Draževac. For years, the sword has been interpreted as a Late La Téne example. An audit analysis has shown that this sword, a long-term exhibition piece of the prehistoric collection, in fact, represents a solidly preserved Roman spatha. In conclusion, several military campaigns across the territory of the Central Balkans, along with their archaeological records, are analysed, in order to provide a comparison with the Celtic campaigns towards the southern Balkans in 279 BC, and provide a possible interpretation for the uncommon location of the sword.