07-27-2007, 07:57 PM
Just returned from a week in Belgrade as a guest of the Serbian military, on the last day of the trip they arranged for me to tour the Military History Museum located in the Fortress Belgrade, an ancienct stone fort that guards the confluence of the Sava and Danube Rivers. Great museum dedicated to not just Balkan but all European military with a large collection of arms and armor. A little off the beaten path, and a museum that I hadn't heard about before, but definitely worth a look if you are in the area.
The star of the section dealing with the Roman era is a gladius and sheath that was found on the banks of the Danube in the 40's. The museum has another in it's collection but I didn't see it on display. The one on exhibit appears to follow the "Mainz" pattern and has a well preserved scabbard, described in the museum guide as "wooden outer case reinforced by an iron foil coating bearing the inscription, shallowly incised in two rows in the coating, near the mouth of the sheath. The upper row features the name of the soldier who owned the sword and the lower one marks the military unit he served in. The inscription on the scabbard indicate the soldier was a member of a special light infantry unit which served as border guards in the part of the Danube Limes at the mouth of the Morava into the Danube."
The museum visit was an unexpected part of the trip, so unfortunately the only camera I had was a cheap disposable type I bought there. I did take some photos but I'm not sure how they'll come out. I'll post them if they turn out OK. The scabbard is very nice, the upper two thirds appear to be silver gilded or tinned with the faint inscriptions mentioned. I couldn't make out what the markings were but maybe the pictures will show more detail. The interesting part of the scabbard is the brass (not gilded) bottom part of the scabbard that covered the part of the scabbard that makes the "V" shape. It was pierced with holes in a very intricate pattern, hard to describe, but like a plant or vine with a single "stalk" up the middle and mirror image "branches" going off of it at close spacing.
Has anyone seen this gladius before and are there any photos of it that you can direct me too? A quick use of the search feature on this site did result in any info other than the one that mentioned 500 gladius found in Serbia earlier that disappeared. Google did not help either. I've in mind to make a replica of the scabbard, so any info would be appreciated.
"Ricktavius"
Rick Rachal
The star of the section dealing with the Roman era is a gladius and sheath that was found on the banks of the Danube in the 40's. The museum has another in it's collection but I didn't see it on display. The one on exhibit appears to follow the "Mainz" pattern and has a well preserved scabbard, described in the museum guide as "wooden outer case reinforced by an iron foil coating bearing the inscription, shallowly incised in two rows in the coating, near the mouth of the sheath. The upper row features the name of the soldier who owned the sword and the lower one marks the military unit he served in. The inscription on the scabbard indicate the soldier was a member of a special light infantry unit which served as border guards in the part of the Danube Limes at the mouth of the Morava into the Danube."
The museum visit was an unexpected part of the trip, so unfortunately the only camera I had was a cheap disposable type I bought there. I did take some photos but I'm not sure how they'll come out. I'll post them if they turn out OK. The scabbard is very nice, the upper two thirds appear to be silver gilded or tinned with the faint inscriptions mentioned. I couldn't make out what the markings were but maybe the pictures will show more detail. The interesting part of the scabbard is the brass (not gilded) bottom part of the scabbard that covered the part of the scabbard that makes the "V" shape. It was pierced with holes in a very intricate pattern, hard to describe, but like a plant or vine with a single "stalk" up the middle and mirror image "branches" going off of it at close spacing.
Has anyone seen this gladius before and are there any photos of it that you can direct me too? A quick use of the search feature on this site did result in any info other than the one that mentioned 500 gladius found in Serbia earlier that disappeared. Google did not help either. I've in mind to make a replica of the scabbard, so any info would be appreciated.
"Ricktavius"
Rick Rachal
