1st Century Pugio

Kathy (the woman I'm staying with) wants to know if you've ever contacted anyone from the SCA about this blade? She says someone told her about these blades at some point but she doesn't know where that person is now.

Nope, never mentioned it to anyone from the SCA, but I did ask questions about the blade on a different formum a few weeks ago. Someone from there could have asked.

Roman Army Talk? I saw you on there, just as I was going to post a link to that discussion here, I found that it was you who had asked the question.

There’s also a lot speculation that a lot of the mysterious deaths, or people dying unexpectedly was also caused by the lead poisoning. I believe there’s also talk that one of the emperors died from lead poisoning, but at this time I can’t remember which one.

Perhaps cases like this?

Tiberius, Caligula, Galba, Nero, Nerva and almost all of the late-Empire emperors were known to be both heavy drinkers and suffer gout-like symptoms. Elagabalus in particular was a huge pleasure seeking emperor, with enormous banquets, exotic dishes and blended wines. His alcohol consumption was so legendary that he was his contemporaries thought he have been drinking from a swimming pool. He was also, no doubt due to lead poisoning, mentally impaired.

Horrible...

It's OT but I would like to expand on this. Is it true that lead poisoning was one of the major factor in the fall of the Roman Empire as some researchers suggested?

It's OT but I would like to expand on this. Is it true that lead poisoning was one of the major factor in the fall of the Roman Empire as some researchers suggested?

See this thread.

See this thread.

Thanks, Cato.

I am surprised to see you scholars can be so good at chemistry and biology!

On a practical note, lead was not a metal generally used in blade manufacture, even as an alloy, because it would render the blade too soft. It might bend or fail to hold an edge.

On a practical note, lead was not a metal generally used in blade manufacture, even as an alloy, because it would render the blade too soft. It might bend or fail to hold an edge.

But using alloy, say, adding copper, could be possible to strengthen it, could it not?

If it is not lead, can it be nickel then? Or nickel silver (or other nickel alloys) as Lost Warrior suggested?

For those that are interested, here