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Pugios
ROMAN DAGGERS
The Romans were known to equip their legionaries with both a sword and a dagger
(pugio), the latter being of fairly of large size. Even Josephus commented on
the equipment of the legionaries that he witnessed during the Jewish Revolt
of 66-70 AD as including what he describes as two swords, “one larger than the
other” (Jewish War III, 5,1), denoting the large size of the pugio. Archaeological
examples of the Roman pugio have been found from the times of the Republic to
those of the later empire. The basic design of the pugio stayed largely consistent
through this entire time, being fairly broad, wasp-waisted, and featuring a
raised fuller running the length of the blade. It also had a hilt with a cross-guard,
integral pommel, and a prominent expansion at the middle of the hilt. The tang
was full width and was covered on each side with multiple layers of laminated
material, including layers of bone or wood, capped with decorative steel or
brass. The sizes of pugios stayed largely the same, varying only slightly in
different time periods.
The various Deepeeka versions of the pugio
show below are excellent reproductions of archaeological
examples, inserted in several styles of scabbard featuring different decorations.
The scabbards themselves, while not necessarily based on particular archaeological
examples, incorporate Roman decorative forms and styles.
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