Top 10 Unusual Ancient Weapons

10

Mere Club

Used by the Māori tribes of New Zealand, this simple-looking, yet solid, club was built from nephrite jade. Strangely enough, the Māori used the 12-20 inch club for jabbing and thrusting instead of swinging downward blows in the way that most other clubs are used. To the Māori, the mere was a very spiritual weapon. They named their mere clubs and passed them down through generations. They even believed that the clubs contained a mana (spiritual force) of their own. The Māori revered their mere clubs greatly. They were a symbol of leadership, and if any mere that was considered important by a tribe was misplaced, great efforts were taken by the tribe to make sure the mere was located and returned to its respective owner.

9

Hook Swords

Perhaps the most well-known on this list, the Chinese hook swords were wielded by the normally passive Shoalin monks of northern China. Beautifully and artistically designed, the blades were curved into a hook shape at the end which allowed the user to connect the blades by the tip and wield them as a single, long-ranged weapon. The crescent shaped guards were excellent at blocking blows as well as slashing enemies who got too close. The ends of the hilts were sharpened into daggers for stabbing at close range. These swords measured from 4-6 feet from the top of the hook to the end of the sharpened hilt. The blades saw most of their usage from civilians, as the Chinese military did not use them in any of their armies.

8

Kpinga

The kpinga was a throwing knife that was used by experienced warriors of the Azande tribe. The Zande people were residents of Nubia, a region in Africa composed of northern Sudan and southern Egypt. The knife (also known by its nickname, the Hunga Munga) was up to 22 inches long and had three blades that extended from the center. The blade closest to the handle is in the shape of a man’s genitals, and represented the masculine power of its owner. The alignment of the blades on the kpinga drastically increased the chances of impaling a target on contact. When the owner of the weapon was married, he presented the kpinga as a gift to the family of his wife.

7

Macuahuitl

The macuahuitl was basically a large, sword-shaped piece of wood, with razor-sharp pieces of obsidian embedded in the sides. Since the macuahuitl lacked a sharp point, it couldn’t be used as a stabbing weapon; however the jagged rows of obsidian gave the weapon a vicious tearing power that could cut deep lacerations in the enemy. The wood itself is heavy and strong enough to clobber opponents, thus enabling the Aztec to capture the foe alive to be used in their famous ritual sacrifices. There have been accounts of maquahuitls being able to decapitate horses, which is impressive, for a horse’s head is a good deal thicker than that of an adult human being.

6

Scissor

This rather odd-looking weapon was used in the arenas by the gladiators of the ancient Roman Empire. Interestingly enough, the gladiators who wielded the scissor in combat were also known as scissors. The metal casing at the bottom formed a long tube that covered the gladiator’s arm, allowing the weapon to easily block and parry, as well as counterattack. Made from hardened steel, the scissor measured up to one and a half feet long. It is surprisingly light, weighing in at an easy 5-7 pounds; this allowed the scissor to be wielded with a good amount of speed. The scissor’s unique shape and design made it a crowd favorite.

5

Chakram

Don’t be fooled, the chakram is not something you would want to play frisbee with. Unlike the frisbee, the chakram was often thrown vertically rather than horizontally. The deadly circle of metal was up to a foot in diameter. It’s extremely sharp edge ensured that the chakram could slice off arms and legs with ease. This weapon originated from India, where it was used extensively by the high ranking Indian Sikhs. Much like a distant relative, the shrunken, the chakram could be stacked one on the other and thrown repeatedly. One interesting throwing method used by professional warriors was to spin the chakram on their index finger, and then, with a sharp flick of the wrist, launch the whirring blade at their opponent.

4

Chu Ko Nu

Another Chinese weapon, the chu ko nu was basically an ancestor to the automatic rifle – it sacrificed range and power for a quick reload time. The wooden case on the top of the crossbow held 10 crossbow bolts which fell into place when the rectangular lever on the back was pulled back after firing a bolt. One interesting fact is that the chu ko nu last saw its use in the Sino-Japanese wars of 1894-1895, years after the rise of firearms. The crossbow could fire on average a total of 10 bolts within 15 seconds. Which, when compared to the reload speed of normal bows and crossbows, is a great improvement. For added effectiveness, some of the bolts were tipped with poison from the deadly aconite flower, also known as wolfsbane.

3

Nest of Bees

Now I have to hand it to the Chinese, their weapons have made four entries on my list. Third place is taken by the nest of bees, or flying fire. Basically it was a wooden container filled with tubes in the shape of a hexagon, which, when viewed from the front, gave the weapon the appearance of a large honeycomb. Inside each of the tubes was a rocket propelled arrow. The rockets launched the arrows with more power and range than that of a traditional bow. Up to 32 arrows could be launched from a nest at once. The Chinese would fire thousands of bees’ nests at once, killing plenty of enemies within seconds.

2

Katar

This Indian weapon gave its owner the claws of wolverine, minus the strength and cutting power of adamantium. The katar at first glance has a single blade, however when a trigger on the h-shaped handle was activated, the blade would split into three, one on the middle and one on each side. The three blades not only made the weapon more effective at stabbing and slashing, but they also intimidated and/or startled the opponent. The blade’s positioning on the handle also allowed it to easily block attacks. Its unusual design has yet another purpose – the triple blades could easily stab through all kinds of Asian armor with ease.

1

Zhua

One look at this incredibly odd-looking device was more than enough to convince me that it deserved the number one place on this list. Yet another Chinese weapon, the zhua’s conspicuous iron “hand” at the end had sharp claw-like nails that would impale flesh, and then tear it off from the body. The sheer weight of the zhua was enough to kill the opponent, but the claws made it even deadlier. When wielded by a professional, it could be used to pull mounted soldiers off their horse. But the main use of the zhua was to pull off the shields of enemies, leaving them exposed to the clawed hand of iron.

Secret Places Banned to the Public

Secretive Russian town of Mezhgorye

There is a town in Russia, called Mezhgorye, which is barred to anyone, except for those believed to work at the highly secretive Mount Yamantaw site, thought by many to be either an ultra-secret research facility, or be nuclear. Founded in 1979. The town is at the foot of the mountain, the highest in the Urals, at 5,381ft, where US satellites have recorded excavation projects, on a huge scale, though repeated enquiries about the nature of operations, at this maddeningly closely watched community, have been met by bland responses, such as it being a mine of some kind, or a repository for Russian treasures, and even as somewhere for government, in case of disaster, but nobody knows.

The mysterious Moscow metro2

Moscow, capital city of Russia, supposedly has a secondary, secret underground metro system, known as Metro-2, running parallel to the public Metro. Built, it is thought, during Stalin’s time, KGB codename for the project being D-6. The existence of this phantom system has never been confirmed, nor denied, by the FSB -Federal Security Service of the Russian Federation, or indeed the Moscow Metro administration themselves. Rumored to be much longer, in length, than the public Metro.  And to consist of four lines, running between 50 and 200m below ground it connects the Kremlin with the FSB headquarters, Vnukovo-2 government airport, plus underground town Ramenki, as well as other, undisclosed locations.

The super secret Area 51 Groom Lake facility

Area 51, a phrase well known around the world, is a military base, Groom Lake, in the southern portion of Nevada, USA, 83 miles from Las Vegas. Found along the southern shore of Groom Lake, the large, secretive, military airfield appears to be involved in the development, and testing of experimental aircraft, as well as advanced weapons systems research.  So closely guarded is this place, and so well monitored, that it has been the subject of conspiracy theory for decades. Even the U.S. government only reluctantly admits to the existence of this place, and the fact that deadly force can, and has been used against people trying to get into the Area 51 zone, really does make you wonder

The ultra secretive Room 39 of North Korea

North Korea, that most oppressive of states, is infamous for Room 39, sometimes called Bureau 39, one of the most secretive of their organizations, dedicated to seeking methods of obtaining foreign currency for North Korea’s leader. Established in the late 1970s and described, by some in the west, as the lynchpin of the dynastic Kim family dealings. Room 39 is such a secretive institution that none are sure exactly what goes on there, though it is widely believed that ten to twenty bank accounts, in Switzerland and China, are used in illegalities such as counterfeiting, money laundering, drug smuggling and illicit weapon sales. The organization has, reportedly, 120 foreign trade companies that it operates, under the direct control of the ruling family, who obviously deny any illegal activities. Room 39 is believed to be l inside a ruling Workers’ Party building in Pyongyang, the capital city of North Korea, but nobody knows for sure

The Inaccessible Ise Grand Shrine of Japan

Japan has an amazing series of over 100 shrines, known as the Ise Grand Shrine, the most sacred shrine in the country. Dedicated to Amaterasu, the Sun goddess, this wondrous place has existed since 4BC, and it is thought that the main shrine contains the single, most important item in Japanese imperial history, the Naikū. This is the mirror, from Japanese mythology, which graced the hands of the first emperors of Japan. Demolished, purely to enable rebuilding, every 20 years, honoring Shinto ideas of death and rebirth, the shrine is barred to anyone but the priest or priestess, who has to a member of the Japanese imperial family everyone else is kept away by very alert guards.

The terrifying Mount Weather Emergency operations center.

Mount Weather is not somewhere that that the US publics ever really want to goes to. This is the genuine article, as in the disaster films, where some highly classified area has been prepared, to accept the lucky few destined to survive. Mount Weather Emergency Operations Center truly is the real thing, set up in the 1950s, during the cold war; it still operates today, as a “last hope” area, though naturally highly classified. Federal Emergency Management Agency staffs, FEMA, are in charge of it, and already, when required much of US telecommunications traffic can be routed through it, so that emergency services operate well

The incredibly intrusive RAF Menwith Hill

The global ECHELON spy network, much employed by US and British governments, is the reason why Royal Air Force station Menwith Hill exists. Containing extensive satellite tracking ground systems, this communications intercept, and missile warning site, has been called the largest electronic monitoring station on earth. Ground station for satellites, of the US National Reconnaissance Office, serving the US National Security Agency, the station is famous for having antennae contained in highly distinctive white radomes. Believed by some to be part of the ECHELON system, reportedly created for the purpose of monitoring military and diplomatic communications, from Soviet Union and Eastern Bloc allies, during the Cold War, and these days I believed to search also for terrorist plots, drug dealing information, as well as political and diplomatic intelligence. Also believed to be involved filtering all telephone and radio communications in the western world, though not proven, this is an incredibly secretive and well guarded place that the public can never get into.