Celtiberian swords

[Matthew Amt]

Ave!

Current thought is that the Fronton-style swords shown in your first post were NOT what the Romans copied, since they were out of style by the time the Romans arrived. What the Spanish were using then was a straight-edged sword first imported from Gaul and then a slightly modified Spanish version of that. (La Tene culture really doesn't emerge until after the leaf-shaped sword is gone from the region of Gaul.) So the Roman gladius hispaniensis was over 2 feet long in the blade, about 2" wide, and either straight-edged or slightly waisted, like my repro (based on one of the Smihel swords):

http://www.larp.com/legioxx/Smihel1.jpg

We used to think that the Fronton was the direct ancestor of the Mainz pattern gladius, but the similarity between the two is very superficial when you get a closer look. Not to mention the gap of a century or two.

There is a growing amount of information on these swords, but the best place to start is Volume 8 of Journal of Roman Military Equipment Studies.

I hope that helps! Vale,

Matthew