Egyptian Mace – Hammer Of The Pharoahs
Blunt Instruments in Ancient Egypt
The club is the oldest weapon in human history, with the mace not far behind. Essentially, both are simply weighted objects intended to hit people or animals with. A club is simply one piece of wood, but a mace is the simplest form of constructed weapon, having a head and handle.
The Limitations of Clubs
Clubs tended to be carved from wood, which was springy enough to take impacts without breaking, but this lightness meant that the impact damage delivered was limited. A well-carved club in the right proportions could deliver enough force to break a limb or fracture a skull, but this was not enough for military purposes.
Although Egypt was advanced in building techniques and the like, it was limited in terms of resources, and so lagged behind other peoples in military development. While the Egyptians still wore linen kilts, their neighbours were developing armour and helments, and a wooden club could not penetrate a helmet of bone or horn, let alone copper or bronze.
The Earliest Maces
In Pre-Dynastic times, maces were already commonplace and effective. Usually they were constructed of a stone head fitted to a wooden haft of around 15-20 inches. The handgrip would be wrapped with leather for a good grip, and the haft would be fitted into a hole drilled through the head.
Sometimes leather thongs would have to be used to secure the head to the haft, as they tended to be loose. These earliest maces had flat circular heads, and the rim was capable of cutting flesh, and giving extra power to break through bone.
Strengths and Weaknesses
This type of early mace was relatively fragile, and easy to break, so other designs of head became common. The simplest and most common was the pear-shaped mace-head. This was a 10cm oval stone head, with a hole drilled through the centre for the haft.
As with the disc-shaped heads, these were prone to shattering when clashed against other hard objects, and had to be constantly replaced. By the time of Amenhotep II, mace heads were made from bronze.
Bronze mace heads didn't shatter, and so were more effective weapons, but the advantages to this new form of mace went beyond simple strength. Making mace heads out of metal meant that they could be moulded with tapering eyes into with hafts could be fitted, thus being more secure and not needing to be tied down. They could also be moulded with decorative designs more easily than a stone head could be carved.
Varieties of Maces
The pear-shaped mace head was the most common, but other types of mace head were also manufactured in Egypt, both for visual appeal and specialist use. The type of stone was as often chosen for its colour, or the veins in it, as for its density or physical strength.
The disc-shaped stone head evolved into a version shaped like a lotus flower, and there were angular, diamond-shaped variants for ceremonial purposed. In terms of specialist use, some stone heads were carved into double-pointed variants, not unlike a small pick-axe head, for more penetrative power against opponents wearing helmets.
The Value of the Mace
Being such a primitive weapon, it's interesting that the mace is so valued in Ancient Egypt.
That it is trusted by soldiers is not surprising, as it is a simple and reliable weapon. Where a bow required a good aim and training, or a sword or spear requires skill to use effectively, the mace needs no special training or knowledge. You don't need to know which weak points to stab at; you simply hit the other man over the head as hard as you can. This is the key to its practical longevity.
Its regard in art and ceremony is a different matter. Pharoahs are most commonly seen smiting enemies with a mace. Mace heads were carved with designs and even with information, such as the famous "Scorpion King" mace.
There were even special ceremonial maces, as there were with other weapons, but with an interesting twist. Ceremonial maces had much larger heads than their practical counterparts, to emphasise their weight in terms of importance as well as simple mass.
Ancient Egyptians were as fascinated by their own past as we are now, and the mace is such a long-lived artefact of theirs, that their fascination with it, and desire to keep it, is perhaps inevitable.
Sources:
Fighting Pharoahs, Bob Partridge, Peartree, 2002
Egyptian Warfare And Weapons, Ian Shaw, Shire, 1991
Royal Armouries, Leeds
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