This spearhead has a socket at its base so that it could be fitted onto a shaft. It was the product of a totally new metallurgical technique in Ugarit at the time. Archaeologists at Ras Shamra believed that this advanced technology was introduced to Syria, along with previously unknown types of metal weapons and other objects, by a newly arrived population, the porteurs de torques, or the torque wearers. Torques — a kind of twisted neckband — were found in great quantities in these people's tombs and are also represented around the necks of certain figurines. This example of a new type of weapon would have been a luxury good, belonging to a member of the city's elite class.
Provenance: Ras Shamra-Ugarit.
Era: Middle Bronze Age (circa 2000 BCE).
Material: Bronze.
Dimensions: 3.2 x 41 x 3.1 cm.
Collection: National Museum of Damascus.
Claude Schaeffer, Ugaritica II: Nouvelles études relatives aux découvertes de Ras Shamra 1949 (p 49-57).
Michel Fortin, Syria, Land of Civilization. Les Éditions de l'Homme, Musée de la Civilisation de Québec 1999.
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