ARROW SHAFTS FROM VENETIAN CRETE

                                        ARROW SHAFTS FROM VENETIAN CRETE  IN  

                                                                 

                                    THE NATIONAL HISTORICAL MUSEUM OF ATHENS

                                                                           

                                                                

In the centre of Athens, in Stadiou and Kolokotroni street is a beautiful museum - the “National Historical”, and amongst other historical artefacts there, is a small display of arrow shafts and arrow points from  Venetian occupied Crete. (Photographs 1 & 2 )

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The Venetian occupation of Crete ranges from 1205 - 1669. This article is not about the history of this occupation - something that one can very easily find in history books and on the net - but mainly about the excellently preserved findings which I believe  are quite rare in Greece.

It is necessary to mention that Crete has a great historical tradition  with archery. From ancient to medieval times Cretan archers fought on their own ground but also as mercenaries. They were famous for their archery skills and as fighters they could cope with any hardship. The most well known Cretan archers are  from the town of Sphakia, and David Brewer in his excellent book titled “Greece, the Hidden Centuries” gives, I think, a fair description of these men.

…..The men of Sphakia were formidable fighters, and remained so, showing the same qualities outstandingly against the Germans in the 1940s. The Venetians held them in high regard, and in 1602 the Venetian provveditor-general wrote of them: “ They surpass all the other inhabitants in these parts. This is not only because they are manly in appearance, competent and agile with muscular bodies, robust, proud, daring and courteous in manner. What most distinguishes them is their keenness of spirit, their greatness of soul, and their unrivalled ability to handle arms, whether bow or musket, in which they are exceptional. That ultimately is why they are without doubt the most daring, the most virile and the noblest of the men on this island  “…..

Very proudly presented here  by  Cesare Vecellio - c. 1530 – c. 1601 lithograph “Sphakianos archer” (Photograph 3)

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Between 1645 - 1669, the Venetians in Crete fought with the Turks  in what now is called “The Cretan War’ or “War of Candia”. That was the fifth  Ottoman-Venetian War and resulted in the occupation of Crete  by the Ottomans (1669-1898).

So, back to our arrows. 

What we see here is approximately 30” shafts but it is difficult to be accurate because of the evident damage. They are tapered at both ends and with bulbous type of knocks and look quite thick in the middle, perhaps around 3/8” (9.5mm to 10 mm). From the length and weight I can say that they are not the famous Turkish flight arrows, but by also  looking at  the collection of arrow points, I can say with some confidence that they are common war arrows. Most amusingly is that the string (sinew?, silk?, cotton?) that holds the feathers still survives, but no information is given of its nature.

The museum has no information about the actual weight of the arrow points, which  are typically of the type used by the Turks. In Turkey, museums there have many surviving good examples of these arrows with points and of course bows from that era. Some very good examples are in the Topkapi museum in Istanbul and in Photograph 4 from my visit to the museum of Amasya/Anatolia in 2013.

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Recently, one evening I was lucky to be present in the company of Turkish re-enactor archers at the beautiful seaside  of the Black Sea, and one of them arrived with a bag of arrow points, similar to those in our photographs, claiming that they were exact copies of originals used by Seljuk Turks. He told me they were 150 grains in weight, but that also 180 to 200 grains were common.

The Turkish archer told me that this particular design of arrowhead is very nasty because if you try to pull the arrow from human flesh the arrow point will remain in the body, and in addition if you pull the arrow from any surface that is embedded in it will do the same, and in that way the possibility of re-using the arrow in the battle by the enemy is minimised. Common knowledge for many but I was impressed by the enthusiasm of my fellow archer explaining to me the mechanics of death.

Looking at the length of the shafts and arrow points from 150 to 200 grains, an average estimation of 600 to 800 grains arrow weight is possible. That possibly means bows around and up to 80 lbs and even stronger. 

Now, this is all hypothetical because the type of wood that the shaft is made from is not known. Looking at the grain structure means it could be any of a few types, and here I am asking for the opinion of experts to help in the identification of the wood if they can - please  contact me.

Another point is the bulbous type of arrow knock. (Photograph 5). I cannot say with certainty what kind of arrow release is used with these arrows, but it cannot be the three or two fingered Mediterranean release or the long-bow style because the arrow knocks should be thinly  tapered and straight for the smoothest possible arrow release. (Photograph 6)

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Thumb ring is the possible use here - the classic Turkish arrow release,  and it looks that what we have in the museum in Athens are arrows used by Turks against the Venetians in the 1645-1669 war or any other previously.

Looking at the lithograph of Cesare Vecellio of the Sphakianos archer - the only reference we have (of which I know), we see that the Cretan archer is using a bio-composite large bow that looks powerful, of a classic Asian design and with very impressive sized arrows with large fletchings which indicates heavy arrows. The arrows don’t look tapered but I am sure they must have been since parallel arrow shafts are a modern design. At the same time the smooth knock possibly indicates that the archer is using the Mediterranean arrow release, something that was common with central and west european archery practices.

I have also to bring to the reader’s attention that there are some other exhibits inside the cabinets, equally interesting. The metal spikes which are known for anti-calvary practices, the label on the side reads that they were also used against enemy ships.  I guess that by catapulting  the spikes on to enemy ship decks, they would injure the barefooted feet of the sailors something which was common practice amongst sailors in order to have maximum grip on the decks, masts, and ropes of the ship.

There are many questions  and the facts not very clear, but I can say with some certainty that the arrows in the National Historical museum in Athens were used by the Turkish archers or  are of the type that the Turks were using in Venetian Crete. 

If your travels bring you to Athens, please visit the museum, see by yourself and enjoy something that I think is very rare in Greece.

I would like to express my gratitude to Stefanos Skarmintzos and Effi Kastelloriou for the co-operation and supply of the photographs for this article.

CONTRIBUTORS

*Stefanos Skarmintzos, is an independent researcher in historical studies and leading authority in Greece on experimental archeology from the Bronze to Medieval era. He has contributed his research to many periodicals, digital media, books and historical societies. He has lectured at Universities and festivals of experimental archeology and taken part in numerous TV programs. 

He is an instructor on ancient Hellenic fighting techniques (phalanx) and recently is researching and practising Medieval swordsmanship.

Stefanos Skarmintzos MA in War History / U.K.

* Effi Kastelloriou is an Athletics Instructor and Line Judge for S.E.G.A.S. (State Athletic Association). Based on the beautiful island of Rhodes, she is also an excellent photographer and part of our research team for our historical studies. Her images have been extremely useful in this article and without them our work would not have come to fruition.  

BIBLIOGRAPHY

DAVID RREWER : Greece, the Hidden Centuries / Turkish Rule from the Fall of Constantinople to Greek Independence - 2010.

COPYRIGHT : GREX LUPORUM.

Please do not reproduce without permission.