84” Falx Sica Scythe Spear

Description

84” Falx Sica Scythe Spear. Condition is Used.
Blade is an antique Appalachian scythe. It has been well used. Blade has been sharpened.
Handle is ash. Blade has been epoxied and peened in the steel socket. Handle is approx 1-1/4”. Handle has a single crack but it won’t effect its functionality.
It’s a little rough around the edges but you won’t find a Falx/ scythe spear anywhere else.
Roman monument commemorating the Battle of Adamclisi clearly shows Dacian warriors wielding a two-handed falx
The falx was a weapon with a curved blade that was sharp on the inside edge used by the Thracians and Dacians – and, later, a siege hook used by the Romans.
In Latin texts, the weapon was described as an ensis falcatus (whence falcata) by Ovid in Metamorphose and as a falx supina by Juvenal in Satiriae.
The Dacian falx came in two sizes: one-handed and two-handed. The shorter variant was called sica[2] (sickle) in the Dacian language (Valerius Maximus, III,2.12) with a blade length that varied but was usually around 16 inches (41 cm) long with a handle 1/3 longer than the blade. The two-handed falx was a pole-arm. It consisted of a 3 feet (0.91 m) long wooden shaft with a long curved iron blade of nearly-equal length attached to the end. Archaeological evidence indicates that the one-handed falx was also used two-handed.[3]
The blade was sharpened only on the inside and was reputed to be devastatingly effective. However, it left its user vulnerable because, being a two-handed weapon, the warrior could not also make use of a shield. It may be imagined that the length of the two-handed falx allowed it to be wielded with great force, the point piercing helmets and the blade splitting shields - it was said to be capable of splitting a shield in two at a single blow. Alternatively, it might have been used as a hook, pulling away shields and cutting at vulnerable limbs, or striking the edge of a strong shield. The inward curving point was still able to pierce the armour or flesh of the target behind the shield, rendering even the most reinforced shields much less effective against a falx wielder.
Trajan's column is a monument to the emperor’s conquest of Dacia. The massive base is covered with reliefs of trophies of Dacian weapons and includes several illustrations of the two-handed falx. The column itself has a helical frieze that tells the story of the Dacian wars. On the frieze, almost all the Dacians that are armed have shields and therefore cannot be using two-handed falx. The exact weapon of those few shown without shields cannot be determined with certainty. The frieze of Trajan's column also shows Dacians using smaller, sword-sized falx. However, this column is also largely stylized, with the sculptor believed to have worked from Trajan's now lost commentary and unlikely to have witnessed the events himself. A further problem is that most of the weapons on the monument were made of metal, which have since disappeared.[4]
The Adamclisi monument, built by Trajan to commemorate the Romans who lost their lives in the Dacian counterattack in Moesia, is thought to have been constructed by the soldiers who fought there, so it may be more accurate. This column shows four distinct types of falx, whereas Trajan's shows only one type that does not resemble any on the Adamclisi monument. Because of this, historians disagree on which depiction is correct, but it has been pointed out that if the Trajan's column falx are correct, then there would have been no need to modify Roman armour.[5] Both columns show the Dacians fighting with no armour apart from a shield, although some on the Adamclisi are wearing helmets. Some historians believe that armour was not depicted to differentiate Dacians from Romans, as both used the same style of shield. Other sources indicate that Dacians by this time had undergone Romanisation, used Roman military tactics, and sometimes wore Roman style scale armour. It is likely that the nobles at least wore armour and, combined with the falx, the Dacians would have been a formidable threat.[6]
Effectiveness Edit
Detail of a falx on the Tropaeum Traiani trophy
Falx in battle
At the time of the Dacian wars, researchers have estimated that only ten percent of Iberian and Gallic warriors had access to swords, usually the nobility. By contrast Dacia had rich resources of iron and prolific metal workers. It is clear that a large percentage of Dacians owned swords, greatly reducing Rome's military advantage.[5]
Marcus Cornelius Fronto described the large gaping wounds that a falx inflicted, and experiments have shown that a blow from a falx easily penetrated the Romans' lorica segmentata, incapacitating the majority of victims. These experiments also show that the falx was most efficient when targeting the head, shoulders, legs and especially the right (sword) arm, which was generally exposed. A legionary who had lost the use of his right arm became a serious liability to his unit in battle.[3]
The time of the conquest of Dacia by Trajan is the only known instance of the Roman army adapting personal equipment while on campaign, and it seems likely that this was a response to this deadly weapon. Roman legionaries had transverse reinforcing iron straps applied to their helmets - it is clear that these are late modifications because they are roughly applied across existing embossed decoration. The legions also reintroduced the wearing of lorica hamata and lorica squamata for the Dacia campaign as both were more flexible than the newer segmentata armour and were able to distribute damage more widely. In addition, both these older armour styles had unique modifications, a row of pteruges was added to the sleeves, a double row of pteruges was added to the skirt and a heavily padded vestment was worn underneath them. Roman armour of the time left limbs unprotected; Trajan introduced the use of greaves and an arm protector (manica) for the right arm, which had previously been used only by gladiators, and which was never used again by soldiers once the Dacia campaign concluded.[