Ancient Greek trident found

[George N. M.]

Here is a link to an article re an ancient Greek iron trident found in what is now NW Turkey.  Not something you see every day.

https://www.thehistoryblog.com/archives/68449#respond

By hammer and hand all arts do stand."

[Frosty]

Thanks for the link George, I love that kind of stuff. 

Frosty The Lucky.

[Irondragon Forge ClayWorks]

A great find to show the design hasn't changed over millennia. I can't believe the conservator is using a power wheel on it. One would think electrolysis would be safer and better removing the rust.

I can't control the wind, all I can do is adjust my sail’s.
Semper Paratus

 

[Frosty]

It's sad the "conservator" didn't ask an expert in who's field it lay. <sigh>

Frosty The Lucky.

[BillyBones]

Kind of looks like the frog gigs we used when i was a kid. 

[Daswulf]

The off set of the center prong seems odd to me and the base almost looks like there could have been a fourth prong. Maybe it was just offset in forging. 

Always cool to see new old relics unearthed and some of the mystery behind them explained.  Thanks for sharing George. 

 

[George N. M.]

Given that it was found in the ruins of a fountain it occured to me that it could have been part of a statue of Posiedon rather than an actual fishing spear.

GNM

[Frosty]

I wondered about the center tine too, Das, it occurred to me it might be a repair or maybe made by a less skilled smith. 

That's a thought George but I'd think special care would be taken with public sculptures. 

However the fountain may have had fish in it so little kids could take their hand at spearing them. You know like the fishing tanks in Bass Pro or outdoor exhibitions.

Frosty The Lucky.

[JHCC]

Ancient Greek statues were more often bronze rather than iron. Indeed, many of the marble statues we associate with ancient Greece were actually marble copies of bronze originals, now lost.

[Jason L]

It looks like it was forge welded together in pieces. Maybe it was a practice piece, made by an apprentice or something. It seems asymmetrical not only in the offset center tine but the angles of the outer tines don't quite match either. One seems to be more of a curved transition while the other seems to be a sharper bend. I wonder if it might have been made by someone who was going off a description from someone who knows a guy who's neighbor told him about one they saw years ago from a distance? That can't be just a modern thing. That might explain a lot of mysterious unexplained artifacts as well. 

[Scott NC]

  Where do you suppose all those bronze originals went?  Surely they can't degrade that fast.  Mabey so, I have never thought about it.  Looting, pillaging or destruction by other cultures?  Triton might have wielded a trident, btw.

[Frosty]

Probably broken up and reused for other sculptures or whatever. Bronze was too valuable not to recycle.

Frosty The Lucky.

[George N. M.]

During the Renaissance bronze was prime loot in a conquered city because it could be melted down and cast into cannon.  More than one statue, contemporary or ancient, went that way.

GNM

[Scott NC]

  I was wondering about the Colossus of Rhodes .  

[Daswulf]

As far as the odd angles it certainly could have been bent in use or rebent after being broken just to keep it working like an old tool hard used and barely functional but still needed as cost of a new one would be too much for the poor worker.  

I've found rr spikes, way more modern, crustier than that in a river. By the time I clean off the crust the iron or steel left is much thinner than the original shape.  

[Scott NC]