Weapons
Some remains of swords, probably Phoenician, have been found in Sardinia. They vary from two feet seven inches to four feet two inches in length. The blade is commonly straight, and very thick in the centre, but tapers off on both sides to a sharp
edge. The point is blunt, so that the intention cannot
have been to use the weapon both for cutting and thrusting, but only for
the former. It would scarcely make such a clean cut as a modern broadsword,
but would no doubt be equally effectual for killing or disabling. Another
weapon, found in Sardinia, and sometimes called a sword, is more properly
a knife or dagger. In length it does not exceed seven or eight inches, and
of this length more than a third is occupied by the handle. Below the handle
the blade broadens for about an inch or an inch and a half; after this it
contracts, and tapers gently to a sharp point. Such a weapon appears sometimes
in the hand of a statuette.