Re: [tied] First iron swords on mass scale

Piotr Gasiorowski wrote:

> There were quite extensive contacts between early Anatolian
> Greeks and Hittites and (especially) Luwians. Words and
> technology may be borrowed separately, so Anatolian
> ironworking could influence Greek metallurgy even if the
> word for 'iron' came from a different source.

When you say Anatolian Greeks you mean Achaeans and maybe Ionians but not
Dorians? As I suspect, and John confirms it, the Dorians did not have direct
contact with Hittites. Now, I wonder whether the word for "iron" was the
same (or similar) in the Mycenean civilization (linear B) and in later
classical Greek.

> I'm sure the Greeks were also influenced by Scythian
> metallurgy; they certainly imported Scythian iron (Skuthe:s
> side:ros).

Yes, but this would be much later influence, and I am especially interested
in the period of 2500-1000 BC.

> Iranians and Cimmerians (who learnt iron metallurgy from the
> peoples of the Caucasus) also played an important role as
> intermediaries who contributed to the introduction of iron
> to Central Europe (not only in the form of arrowheads).
> Early Celtic iron manufacturers certainly assimilated a good
> deal of steppe influence.

But again, this was after Greeks already switched to iron weapons.

> As for Phrygian, the corpus of is so meagre that I doubt if
> the word 'iron' occurs there at all.

Wielkie dzieki za pomoc.

Michal