weaponry and armor: Egypt military headquarters There are a few scenes from the Old and Middle Kingdom (ca 2575–ca 1640 b.c.e.) that depict bows and spear shafts being smoothed and others that show arrows From the New Kingdom (ca 1550–ca 1070 b.c.e.) there is much pictorial evidence showing various techniques used in weapons manufacture Scenes include a craftsman straightening the shaft of a spear over a fire after wetting it from a cup of water beside him, a bow being tested for resilience, arrows being made, metal helmets being weighted, bow cases being sewn up with an awl (a pointed tool for punching holes), and an arrow being checked for straightness by one workman while a second uses an adze (a bladed tool) to plane out another arrow resting on his knees A letter sent by Dhutmose, a scribe who was on a military mission in Nubia, to his son, Butehamun, the scribe of the Necropolis at Deir el-Medina, requests “fresh supplies of copper spear-heads” made by the local coppersmiths as well as spare parts for war chariots, new material for clothing, and old material “for bandages,” a rare sign of concern for the wounded Several New Kingdom tombs include representations of carpenters, joiners, and leather workers, all working on a chariot together In addition to wood, they required large amounts of leather for fastening parts together, covering the body, tiring the wheels, and making reins, blinkers, and bits During the New Kingdom the Egyptians imported highly developed weapons from the Near East and adopted Near Eastern military technology There is perhaps some evidence that non-Egyptian craftsmen participated in weapons manufacture Bows and arrows, the most important longrange weapons, can be dated to the Late Paleolithic Period (ca 12,000–10,000 b.c.e.) During the Second Intermediate Period (1640–1532 b.c.e.) the composite bow was introduced from the Near East It was made from laminated wood, horn, and sinew and had a much improved range and power It had an effective range of 500 to 600 feet, and an exceptional shot could attain a distance of 1,500 feet Because of the laminate construction of composite bows, they were sensitive to heat and moisture and thus were usually stored in cases Two types of cases have been discovered from New Kingdom Egypt: One was carried, and the other was attached to the body of a war chariot They could be made of leather or wood and were sometimes ornamented Handheld stabbing weapons can be traced to Paleolithic times The earliest artistic representation of a spear is on the Hunters Palette Spears were regularly used in military contexts in later times as well For example, the Egyptian soldiers on Hatshepsut’s (r 1473–1458 b.c.e.) mission to Punt are shown carrying spears and shields on the Deir el-Bahri reliefs, as are troops following Tutankhamun (r 1333–1323 b.c.e.) as he drives his chariot on the “painted box.” Some of the Near Eastern men in the Beni Hasan tomb painting carry spears, and the Shasu Bedouin in the Seti I (r 1306–1290 b.c.e.) reliefs at Karnak brandish spears and axes against Egyptian forces Spears were ideal defensive weapons in siege warfare 1163 A spear with much longer shaft, known as a lance, is illustrated in siege scenes from the Middle Kingdom Beni Hasan tombs In these scenes a portable defensive structure covers a group of soldiers who attack a fortified city with a large lance, in the manner of a battering ram Maces with mace heads of varying form were the most powerful weapons of close combat in the Predynastic Period (before roughly 3000 b.c.e.) In the Late Period (712–332 b.c.e.) and into Greco-Roman times (332 b.c.e.–395 c.e.) kings are shown brandishing maces in the head-smiting motif on temple walls Disc- and oval-shaped mace heads are found in the Naqada I and II periods of the Predynastic Period These shapes continued to be used through pharaonic history and beyond The mace (and club) probably had a more ceremonial function after the Old Kingdom, despite Thutmose III’s (r 1479–1425 b.c.e.) boast on the Gebel Barkal stela regarding his victories in the Near East: “It was my mace which overthrew the Asiatics, my club which smote the Nine Bows.” The earliest form of ax was the handheld implement from Paleolithic times When the stone blade was first affi xed to a handle is not known, but at that point of development the ax became a deadly weapon During the Old Kingdom copper blades were introduced The ax blades were long and rounded and continued to be used during the Middle Kingdom The duck-bill blade is the ax shown in the tomb of Khnumhotep at Beni Hasan In two Old Kingdom battle scenes the ax is used by Egyptian soldiers to repel their enemies and to hack up the city wall In the New Kingdom the blade is much more narrowly shaped Swords and daggers were of great military importance throughout Egypt’s history These weapons are similar in construction but different in length and usage A sword is generally defined as longer than 16 inches, and a dagger is shorter The Third Dynasty relief of King Sekhemkhet (r ca 2611–ca 2603 b.c.e.) at Wadi Maghara (Sinai) shows a dagger tucked in the monarch’s belt These early daggers were made of copper and had no midrib (thickening down the middle for added strength) The dagger’s usefulness as a weapon would have been in hand-to-hand combat As copper gave way to bronze in the third millennium b.c.e., daggers in Egypt evolved into swords Preserved examples from the Middle Kingdom resemble the daggers of earlier periods However, swords were not commonly used in Egypt until the New Kingdom, when longer, double-edged swords were introduced from Anatolia Shields were the oldest means of defense and were made of wood covered with leather They were used first by infantry In the New Kingdom they were held by drivers of war chariots, to protect the archers standing beside them The tomb of Tutankhamun contained wooden shields, some of which had leather or animal skins over them Combining wood and leather made the shield a more effective defensive tool, and a metal protective surface was especially useful against arrows fired from composite bows Helmets appeared in the Eighteenth Dynasty (ca 1550–ca 1307 b.c.e.), when some troops acquired helmets of bronze or leather in imitation of