Archers provided range to the chariot warriors, and when range and speed were combined the chariot mounted archers became dominate figures on the ancient battlefields. Most archers were foot soldiers however Egyptian chariots also carried them. Obsidian was exchanged for bronze around 2000BC, and finally, domestically produced iron arrow heads began to appear around 1000BC. Arrowheads switched from stone to obsidian during the pre-dynastic period.
The ancient Egyptian’s continued to use both long bows and composite bows throughout their history. The bow long remained the main armament of Egyptian forces throughout Egypt’s long military history perhaps due to the lack of armor worn by Egyptian warriors and their enemies in the hot climate where they operated. Two kinds of Egyptian axes are shown in this image, one type looks like a fan while the other is hatchet like, although it is missing a stabalizing eye hole. A spear man with leather shield and an archer. Eventually these weapons developed into the quintessential Egyptian weapons discussed below. Over the following centuries as the Pharaoh’s dominated ancient Egyptian society they began to standardize weapons, stock pile arsenals and borrow weapons systems from invading peoples. It was also during this period that the composite bow came into use, made with horn and wood. They used bronze for spearheads, axes and maces. (For more about early Egyptian weapon developments see Egyptian Military)īy the time upper and lower Egypt were first united and their society coalesced around 3150 BC, the Egyptians had already been using bronze weapons. This glass like stone has properties that allow it to have a sharper point than the sharpest metals these almost molecularly thin blades are used even today for scalpels. By 4000 BC the Egyptians had started importing obsidian from the Eastern Red Sea areas for their weapons. Horn and wooden bows were also constructed and used with stone tipped arrows. During the earliest periods stone and wood weapons were used, these early Egyptian weapons included slings, clubs, throwing sticks, stone maces and stone tipped spears. Over its long history the Egyptians employed a wide variety of ancient weapons.