24:
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expansion, which was roughly trapezial in shape, or made of thin metal embossed to this shape. The hilt was often decorated with silver inlay. The hilt is 10 cm to 13 cm (4 in - 5 in) long overall and, though the grip is quite narrow, the presence of an expansion in the center of the grip provides for a very secure hold.
731:
and were hinged to the sides of the sheath. The third type, called frame type, was made of iron and consisted of a pair of curved channels which ran together at the lower end of the sheath, where they were normally worked into a flattened round terminal expansion and pierced with rivet. There is an
540:
was intended as an auxiliary weapon, but its exact purpose for the soldier remains unknown. Officials of the empire took to wearing ornate daggers in the performance of their offices, and some would wear concealed daggers for defense in contingencies. The dagger was a common weapon of assassination
660:
typically had a large blade. There were different kinds of blades. One type was "leaf-shaped." Another type had narrow parts near the shoulders. Which ran parallel to about half the blade's length before narrowing to a sharp point. Midribs ran close to the length of each side, either standing out
883:
in the Latin, Greek and Roman materials section of www.perseus.com. English translations are available. Some instances (in addition to the murder of Julius Caesar) appear in the following examples: The letter of
Servius Sulpicius Rufus to Cicero mentions that Publius Magius Cilo stabbed Marcus
736:
whose channels have been inserted into a bulbous terminal formed with a ferule to accept the channels before a decorated rivet has been used to fix all three elements together. The channels were joined by two horizontal bands at the top and middle of the sheath and these bands also retained the
776:
Throughout the period, the outline of the hilt remained essentially the same. Like the earlier period, it was made with two layers of horn, wood or bone sandwiching the tang, each overlaid with a thin iron plate, which could either be solid, becoming thinner at both the guard and the pommel
684:
By the second quarter of the 1st century AD, three types of sheaths were in use. All of these had four suspension rings and a bulbous terminal expansion which was pierced by a large rivet. Evidence shows that the two lower rings were unused. The first type was made with a curving
712:. These sheaths featured round free-running suspension rings, attached by bifurcated mountings which were riveted on. Modern reconstructions of these sheaths which feature applied brass plates attached by rivets are incorrect and nothing of this type has ever been found.
772:
which both retain replacement handles, one of which is a recycled sword grip. Some of the blades associated with rod tangs were narrower (under 4.5 cm (1.75 in) wide), with little or no waisting, or reduced or virtually non-existent midribs (type "C" blades).
763:
s appearance, although the archaeological evidence strongly suggests that the rod tang was less secure and that handles attached in this way could become detached, a possibility that may be proved by the existence of two surviving
892:
tells the story of Arria, loving wife of Paetus. When he was ordered to kill himself, she went first, stabbing herself with a dagger and exclaiming "It doesn't hurt, Paete."
884:
Marcellus after dinner and later committed suicide. A letter from Cicero to
Atticus states that a young man, Curio, was falsely accused of fomenting a conspiracy to kill
492:
756:
was no longer riveted through the tang but was instead secured only at the shoulders of the blade. This in itself caused no great change to the
987:
J. Obmann - 'Studien zu
Roemischen Dolchscheiden des 1. Jahrhunderts n. Chr.', Koelner Studien Zur Archaeologie Der Roemischen Provinzen, 2000
485:
270:
166:
1023:
82:
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at both the front and back of the sheath. This plate surrounded wooden "lining." The front plate was usually heavily decorated with
719:. One metal plate was attached to the front of the wooden sheath. This plate was fairly flat and was heavily decorated with inlaid
621:
was probably an advanced stabbing weapon, the type of weapon said to have been preferred by the Romans. Of them, late Roman writer
58:
938:
841:
224:
971:
478:
144:
918:
984:
I. Scott - 'Roman
Military Daggers' in 'A Catalogue of Roman Iron Tools, Weapons and Fittings in the British Museum, 1985
864:
809:
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32:
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370:
48:
126:
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For references to the numerous instances of murder and suicide with the dagger in the ancient authors, look up
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suspension rings. These sheaths would have been built around a wooden core, which does not survive in the
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was wide and flat and a grip was riveted through it, as well as through the shoulders of the blade. The
587:. It is still possible to use punch and stab synonymously in many Indo-European languages; hence, Latin
752:
underwent some changes during the first half of the 1st century AD. Rod tangs were introduced, and the
175:
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ranged from 18 cm to 28 cm (7 in to 11 in) long and 5 cm (2 in) or more in width.
1033:
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MC Bishop and JCN Coulston - 'Roman
Military Equipment (2nd Edition)', Armatura Press, 2006
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was originally round but by the early 1st century, it was replaced by a round and
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was the weapon grasped by the fist; however, the Latin word for swordplay was
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said it "was the method of fighting principally used by the Romans"
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859:(7th revised ed.). Amsterdam: Amsterdam University Press.
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was used. The suspension rings resembled small Roman military
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mean "fist". The Smith article cited below proposes that the
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Yahoo Group site devoted to PUGIO study with over 80 photos
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The second type was a wooden sheath, probably covered with
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840:(in French). Paris: Librairie Hachette. p. 1275.
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677:pommel. Which was often topped by three decorative
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541:and suicide; for example, the conspirators who
933:This derivation is given in Köbler, Gerhard,
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998:Roman Offensive Weapons: The Dagger / Pugio
941:{{webarchive|url=hs not happen to include
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976:Dictionary of Greek and Roman Antiquities
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844:from the original on September 23, 2023.
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661:from the face or sunken and defined by
553:developed from the daggers used by the
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645:Reconstruction of a 2nd century AD
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978:, online at ancientlibrary.com.
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857:Woordenboek Latijn/Nederlands
357:Upper Germanic-Rhaetian Limes
888:with a dagger. A letter of
855:Pinkster, Harm, ed. (2018).
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271:Frontiers and fortifications
7:
935:Indogermanisches Wörterbuch
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536:. It seems likely that the
83:Decorations and punishments
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579:The word derives from the
557:of the Iberian peninsula.
937:under p. It can be found
723:and enamel. Occasionally
708:and red, yellow or green
689:that was usually made of
910:Pugio-gladius Brevis Est
820:
606:
575:The root of the word is
386:Claustra Alpium Iuliarum
371:Danube–Iller–Rhine Limes
41:Military of ancient Rome
1019:Ancient European swords
907:Saliola, Marco (2012).
834:Gaffiot, Félix (1934).
469:Ancient Rome portal
913:. Archaeopress, 2012.
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638:
571:derives from the word
1000:, Roman Legions site.
739:archaeological record
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543:stabbed Julius Caesar
352:Neckar-Odenwald Limes
167:Technological history
974:, article in Smith,
744:Like other items of
665:on either side. The
637:Pugio reconstruction
342:Lower Germanic Limes
241:Strategy and tactics
176:Military engineering
78:Unit types and ranks
802:Ancient Rome portal
746:legionary equipment
581:Proto-Indo-European
337:Lauter Valley Limes
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517:[ˈpuːɡioː]
438:Limes Tripolitanus
59:Structural history
920:978-140-730-999-6
890:Pliny the Younger
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300:Limes Britannicus
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16:Roman dagger
687:metal plate
654:1st century
555:Cantabrians
316:Saxon Shore
1013:Categories
815:Parazonium
520:; plural:
347:Main Limes
734:Titelberg
675:trapezial
611:Like the
565:The word
561:Etymology
332:Alb Limes
842:Archived
788:See also
766:pugiones
623:Vegetius
547:pugiones
528:used by
524:) was a
522:pugiones
127:Admirals
102:Generals
33:a series
31:Part of
1044:Daggers
966:Sources
729:buckles
717:leather
663:grooves
629:Forging
614:gladius
534:sidearm
97:Auxilia
88:Legions
939:online
917:
886:Pompey
863:
750:dagger
748:, the
721:silver
710:enamel
706:niello
702:silver
695:inlaid
679:rivets
671:pommel
656:, the
617:, the
589:pugnus
573:pungo.
549:. The
526:dagger
513:Latin:
230:
187:Castra
122:Fleets
49:AD 476
45:753 BC
35:on the
972:PUGIO
943:pugio
881:pugio
821:Notes
782:pugio
770:sites
761:'
758:pugio
698:brass
658:pugio
647:pugio
619:pugio
607:Usage
601:pugna
597:pugio
593:pygmḗ
585:*peuĝ
583:root
568:pūgiō
551:pugio
545:used
538:pugio
530:Roman
508:pugio
290:Walls
284:Limes
207:Roads
915:ISBN
861:ISBN
754:hilt
691:iron
667:tang
577:pug.
505:The
112:Navy
68:Army
725:tin
1015::
897:^
741:.
704:,
700:,
681:.
47:–
945:.
923:.
869:.
511:(
494:e
487:t
480:v
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