Hands On History: Ancient Egyptian Weapons: Khopesh and Shield



The Khopesh, also called the sickle sword or a Sappara is a sword that was actually a hybrid between a sword and an ax. This is why it has such an unusual shape. This is a real sword design and these swords were really used over 3,000 years ago and not again since. There are still some examples of this sword in museums and two of them were found in king Tut's treasure.
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The swords of that time period were made of copper, bronze or possibly iron. And these metals are not as strong as steel. This is why the unusual curve in the blade -this added enough strength so it could be used as an almost ax style weapon.


You can make a replica by downloading the template and using the instructions found at Storm The Castle. All you have to do is cut out the three parts of the sword and tape them together. Then you make five copies out of cardboard and glue them all together. We used some foam-board instead of some of the cardboard.


The shield can be made from a piece of white foam-board which he painted with black acrylic paint. He added straps on the back with cloth ribbon and duct tape.



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