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LIV. ExtraSi of a Memoir on the Bronze of the Antients , 

 and an Antique Sword. Read in the Public Sitting of the 

 Injiitute, July 4. J^C.Mongez. 



V>«» TRAULLE, prefident of the Society of Emulation 

 at Abbeville, preiented to the clafs of literature and the fine 

 arts, a fword of bronze, found near Corbie, in the turf-mofs, 

 formed by the depofits of the Somme. A fmall figure of a 

 warrior found in the fame mofs, and feveral Roman medals, 

 fome of which are frequently dug up there, give reafon to» 

 conjecture that this weapon belonged to the Romans ; be- 

 sides its dimenfions, the blade, being eighteen inches in length 

 and two-edged, together with its point, its ftrength, its weight, 

 feem to characterize a fword of the conquerors of the world. 

 Though it was found near the fkeleton of a man and that of 

 a horle, it feems doubtful whether it belonged to a horfeman, 

 becaufe the fwords of the cavalry were longer than thofe of 

 the foot foldiers. It is alfo probable that it was an object 

 of luxury, or ferved as a mark of diftinction to fome officer, 

 for we know, by the teftimony of Polybius, that the ordinary 

 fword of the Romans was of iron. In a word, fuch a weapon 

 of bronze would coft at prefent as much money as a cutlafs 

 of the fame length. It would, therefore, be no faving to 

 adopt the ufe of bronze fwords, but they could be fooner 

 manufactured, as they might be carl:; fo that in a country 

 deftitute of manufactories for making fabres and fwords, 

 twenty thoufand men might be eafily armed in the courfe of 

 a month. 



After having examined the alloy of which the antique fword 

 is compofed, I generalized my labour, and made fome re- 

 fearches in regard to the bronze of the antients. The follow- 

 ing is the refult. — We employed copper under the metallic 

 form in three different ftates : — pure copper; brafs or cop- 

 per alloyed with zinc; and bronze, that is, copper alloyed 

 with tin. I afcertained, by different experiments made in 

 concert with Dize, that we have no remains of pure copper 

 from the antients. The fheathing even of (hips, which wag 

 known to, and practifed by them, was not performed with 

 copper, but with plates of lead : the nails only were of bronze. 

 Leo-Baptifta Alberti obferved it on an antient fhip, dis- 

 covered, while fome refearches were making under his direc- 

 tion, in the neighbourhood of lake Riccia. If to this be 

 added, that all the antient inflruments, vafes, and medals, 

 have been caft, we may conjecture, that the antients made 

 very little ufe of pure copper. 



The 



