Awad Adam, a Kassala blade smith, offhandedly described the mark to me as an arbain (40) so I can't claim that insight, but I am glad I wrote it down in my field notes. Every time I think of that time among the sword makers I wish I had asked more questions and taken more photographs. But then again my focus was the "social economics of swordmaking" and only nibbled about the edges of the much larger Kaskara Realm as such.
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