Some more objects from the RDG - kaskara (?) and spears

[RDGAC]

Item #2: One of our four kaskara - or what seem to be kaskara, anyway. All four, I believe (at least three quite certainly) were taken by the 4th (Royal Irish) Dragoon Guards, during the Anglo-Egyptian of 1882, probably during the pursuit phase following the disastrous (from an Egyptian standpoint) battle at Tel-el-Kebir. Since, in the words of one Sergeant Thomas Littlejohn, 4th Dragoon Guards, "we [the 4th D.G.] received orders to kill none except those who refused to give up their weapons, which in almost every case they were only too glad to do" (J. M. Brereton, A History of the 4th/7th Royal Dragoon Guards and their predecessors, 1685-1980, p. 260; Catterick, 1982), it seems likely that these were some of the many blades discarded by fleeing Egyptian infantry following their rout. It's also possible, however, that they were taken as trophies from the citadel at Cairo, which the 4th Dragoon Guards were also to take shortly afterward - if only by a splendid bluff.

In any event, we've got four of these beasts, and they seem to match the typical profile of a kaskara from my own research. Long, double-edged blade, designed for a one-handed grip, one or three fullers, and to be honest, fairly crude-looking construction. All but one are without their scabbards, and this example's scabbard is less than half intact; given the damage it's sustained over the years, I'd surmise that even if the others once had their scabbards, they have long fallen victim to time, neglect and abuse.

This particular blade is also, sadly, the worst of the lot; as well as substantial chips in its edge, the flats of the blade are badly pitted. When I removed its scabbard, in March, I found that the blade was still rusting slowly away, and immediately began trying to remedy this; so far I've been using 0000 grade steel wool and Young's "303" gun oil, with a coating of 3-in-1 to try to protect the blade from further moisture, but I'm checking regularly for activity. Advice on this matter would, as always, be very helpful.

The blade is, overall, some 34.125in (86.5cm, give or take), from the tip to the lowermost edge of the cross guard, which is of course cruciform in shape; its width varies from 1.25in (3.5cm) near the tip, to just shy of 1.7in (4.4cm) a quarter of an inch forward of the ricasso, which tapers by 0.1in toward the cross guard, presumably to accommodate said part and the grip. At a guess - for I've not had the nerve to remove the remaining sections of the grip - the blade's length, including tang, is probably around 39.5-40in (100-102cm, again give or take). The blade exhibits pitting, extensive inactive rust, and several chips along its edge - possibly battle damage, or possibly due to careless handling, I'm sorry to admit. There was also significant active rust on the lower 21in (52cm) of the blade, which had probably remained covered by the scabbard for some time. It exhibits three fullers, the outer two extending a little less than 11.4in (29cm) from the cross guard, while the innermost runs some 17.25in (43cm) down the blade. To either side of this central fuller sits what appears to be a depiction of a crescent moon, but with an unusually jagged "cut" to its crescent; it may be Arabic text, or perhaps a depiction of something else entirely (sunrise over mountains?).

The grip is in poor condition; denuded of its binding material and the leather (?) pommel present on our other three kaskara, all that remains is its wooden core and some coils of what seems to be steel or iron wire. This wire is terrible corroded and very brittle; a piece around 1/4 of an inch in length snapped off in my fingers when I attempted to unwind it. It is deteriorating and will probably do so until it has simply disintegrated; at this stage I can see no means to stabilise what is obviously almost totally destroyed metal. The grip's core has a single nail through it, which presumably passes through a hole in the tang in the manner of the Japanese mekugi/mekugi-ana method.

The scabbard is, likewise, in poor condition; 22.5in (57.2cm) in length, it is obviously missing a foot of its length, perhaps more - or am I wrong, and do kaskara scabbards (if this even is a kaskara - argh!) not extend so far as those found elsewhere? In any case, whatever lay above that 22.5in mark has been torn away, judging from the jagged edges of the damaged portion. The tip of the blade has ripped through the very tip of the scabbard, with the result that it now protrudes by around 1/3 of an inch, and the scabbard's stitching is failing badly on the reverse side. I have no idea how long it has been left without leather treatment of some sort, but any help in mitigating the damage would be most appreciated.

And now, pictures!

Weapon in scabbard:
http://img576.imageshack.us/img576/4185/img0389gl.jpg

And out of scabbard, with this alongside:
http://img22.imageshack.us/img22/8172/img0372he.jpg

Blade details, obverse:
http://img38.imageshack.us/img38/6236/img0378ws.jpg
http://img571.imageshack.us/img571/500/img0379a.jpg
http://img217.imageshack.us/img217/9711/img0380w.jpg
http://img36.imageshack.us/img36/3628/img0388sc.jpg

Blade details, reverse:
http://img412.imageshack.us/img412/9725/img0382u.jpg
http://img201.imageshack.us/img201/9394/img0383y.jpg

Grip, cross guard and wire:
http://img718.imageshack.us/img718/1305/img0381ek.jpg
http://img522.imageshack.us/img522/8186/img0384cu.jpg
http://img15.imageshack.us/img15/5012/img0393ax.jpg

Scabbard, obverse:
http://img43.imageshack.us/img43/1089/img0373el.jpg
http://img156.imageshack.us/img156/750/img0374o.jpg
http://img263.imageshack.us/img263/5611/img0377ao.jpg
http://img21.imageshack.us/img21/5930/img0375hl.jpg
http://img341.imageshack.us/img341/6500/img0376q.jpg

Obverse, with sword inside:
http://img80.imageshack.us/img80/6521/img0391r.jpg

Obverse, damage to scabbard tip:
http://img375.imageshack.us/img375/1773/img0390.jpg

Reverse, damage to scabbard tip:
http://img199.imageshack.us/img199/9353/img0392bg.jpg

View down scabbard:
http://img28.imageshack.us/img28/2976/img0387uz.jpg

[VANDOO]

A KASKARA IT DEFINITELY IS .
FOR A GOOD WRITE UP ON THESE BY LEE CLICK ON THE PICTURE OF A KASKARA AT THE TOP OF THE PAGE. THAT WILL TAKE YOU TO THE HOME PAGE SCROLL DOWN TO THE CATEGORY AFRICA AND THEN CLICK KASKARA. THAT WILL TELL YOU JUST ABOUT EVERYTHING ABOUT THEM. THERE ARE OTHER POSTS YOU CAN SEARCH OUT OF THE DISCUSSION FORUMS AND ARCHIVES.
I WOULD KEEP THE REMAINS OF THE SCABBARD FOR AN EXAMPLE BUT NOT PUT THE SWORD BACK IN IT. LEATHER SCABBARDS ARE NORTORIOUS FOR CAUSING A BLADE TO RUST. SOMETIMES IT IS JUST BECAUSE OF THE MOSITURE THEY ATTRACT BUT THE CHEMICALS USED IN TANNING THE LEATHER ALSO CAN CAUSE EVEN WORSE RUSTING. THERE ARE MANY THINGS ONE CAN USE TO PRESERVE OR RESTORE LEATHER I PERSONALLY USE SOME MINK OIL CREAM. I ALSO USE IT ON MY SHOES WHICH IS WHAT IT WAS ORIGINALLY INTENDED FOR. THERE ARE POSTS ON PRESERVING LEATHER IN THE ARCHIVES ALSO. I AM SURE THE KASKARA FOLKS WOULD LIKE TO SEE THE OTHER EXAMPLES PERHAPS JUST ONE OR TWO PICTURES OF EACH WOULD SATE THEIR APPETITES.

[Rick]

Originally Posted by VANDOO

A KASKARA IT DEFINITELY IS .
FOR A GOOD WRITE UP ON THESE BY LEE CLICK ON THE PICTURE OF A KASKARA AT THE TOP OF THE PAGE. THAT WILL TAKE YOU TO THE HOME PAGE SCROLL DOWN TO THE CATEGORY AFRICA AND THEN CLICK KASKARA. THAT WILL TELL YOU JUST ABOUT EVERYTHING ABOUT THEM. THERE ARE OTHER POSTS YOU CAN SEARCH OUT OF THE DISCUSSION FORUMS AND ARCHIVES.
I WOULD KEEP THE REMAINS OF THE SCABBARD FOR AN EXAMPLE BUT NOT PUT THE SWORD BACK IN IT. LEATHER SCABBARDS ARE NORTORIOUS FOR CAUSING A BLADE TO RUST. SOMETIMES IT IS JUST BECAUSE OF THE MOSITURE THEY ATTRACT BUT THE CHEMICALS USED IN TANNING THE LEATHER ALSO CAN CAUSE EVEN WORSE RUSTING. THERE ARE MANY THINGS ONE CAN USE TO PRESERVE OR RESTORE LEATHER I PERSONALLY USE SOME MINK OIL CREAM. I ALSO USE IT ON MY SHOES WHICH IS WHAT IT WAS ORIGINALLY INTENDED FOR. THERE ARE POSTS ON PRESERVING LEATHER IN THE ARCHIVES ALSO. I AM SURE THE KASKARA FOLKS WOULD LIKE TO SEE THE OTHER EXAMPLES PERHAPS JUST ONE OR TWO PICTURES OF EACH WOULD SATE THEIR APPETITES.

My only Kaskara resides outside of its scabbard permanently .

[stephen wood]

...thank you, very interesting.

It's so important to see the examples of kaskara which have been in Regimental Museums for so long - they serve as dating touchstones.

I think that they might have been captured in the subsequent Campaign in the Sudan since at Tel El Kebir the Egyptians were a regular army - many of whom were later deployed with Baker and Hicks.

Notice that the "moons" are quite well defined - not the squiggles we see on later blades.

Is it possible that the "wire" is in fact very fine twisted leather?

[Jim McDougall]

Thank you so much RDGAC for posting this fascinating example, and as Stephen has noted, it is great to see examples that have been in museums for such a long time as provenance is such an important key in the study of weapons.
I am inclined to agree also with Stephen, that these kaskaras seem more likely to have been acquired in later campaigns against Mahdist forces, as the Egyptian forces had been largely striving for more modern European type militarization since the time of Muhammed Ali. With that being the case, it would not seem that medieval style broadswords would have been concurrent with modern type arms.

However, it is noted that at the time of Muhammed Ali's invasion of the Sudan in 1819, the Sudanese tribes had no central authority and tribal infighting was carried out with primitive weaponry. By the time of the Mahdist uprisings in the 1870s the Mahdists were described as poorly clothed, and armed only with sticks and stones. Despite this, they were apparantly able to overpower assembled Egyptian forces and acquire stores of arms and ammunition. It is not made clear what these captured arms were, but the inclusion of the ammunition term obviously suggests emphasis on guns.
It appears that much of the Mahdist supply was obtained in the same way, as captured materials from previous battles are mentioned as sources.

It is known that broadsword blades began to enter the trans Saharan cultural sphere sometime long before this period, as these weapons are described in some of the early narratives of c.1830s and 40s. It is also known that the native made blades with these type fullers, as well as the crescent moons in opposed pair, were said to be 'made in the north'. Exactly what 'north' is meant is unclear, but if it was as far north as Egyptian areas, it would certainly bring interesting perspective to the kaskara. It would certainly seem plausible that in the centuries of Mamluk domain in Egypt, an armourers tradition must have been extant, we know that it was for mail.

Therefore, the questions stand....would there have been use of the kaskara among infantry ranks in the Egyptian army of c.1882? Would captured weaponry taken from Egyptian forces by the Mahdi, and used to equip his 'Ansar' have included these broadswords? Would the description of 'primitive weapons' used by Sudanese tribes mean 'ancient broadswords'?

I'd sure like to hear opinions on these.

Meanwhile, this kaskara, excels in its history as it has remained in situ for such a long time, and that it came out of campaigns in these regions in these times seems secure, regardless of exact circumstances.

I hope we might see the others also, and know if there are similar details in provenance.

All best regards,
Jim

[RDGAC]

Hmm. Gentlemen, you may well have a point - and I call myself an historian by training! The 4th Dragoon Guards were, indeed, involved (albeit on a small scale) in the Mahdi uprising and its attempted suppression subsequent to the events of 1882. To quote Mr. Brereton once more:

In September 1884 the Government belatedly decided to despatch a relief force to rescue General Gordon, besieged in Khartoum by the rebellious Mahdi. Now Egypt and the Sudan were of course the lands of that "ship of the desert", the camel; ergo, the force must include a specially-raised Camel Corps of some 1,200 British officers and men, about half of whom were to be found by all the cavalry regiments at home. The cavalry contingent was divided into a "Heavy" and a "Light Regiment, the former comprising two officers and 43 other ranks from the Household Cavalry and each of the Dragoon Guards and Dragoon regiments in England, the "Light" being similarly found from the Hussars. The detachment from the 4th Dragoon Guards... sailed with the rest of the Heavies from Portsmouth on September 26th and disembarked at Alexandria on October 7th.

Having been introduced to their unaccustomed 22-hand mounts and gleaned some rudiments of "camelmanship" they learned, with some relief, that they were not actually expected to fight on the beasts as "cavalrymen", but were to be employed solely as mounted infantry. The force reached Korti, some 900 miles up the Nile on Christmas Day, and here General Sir Herbert Stewart was despatched with the Camel Corps and some infantry to establish a strongpoint at Abu Klea, near the Blue Nile. On January 17th (1889) the column of 1,800 men was attacked by a horde of 9,000 Mahdi fanatics, losing eleven officers and 77 men killed and 115 wounded, though they slew at least 1,100 of the "Fuzzy-Wuzzies" in their desperate seven-hour fight. This action cost the 4th Dragoon Guards detachment both officers - Darley and Law - and seven men killed and five others wounded. (Ibid., pp. 262-263.)

From this, it seems clear that the 4th DG were indeed sent into the Sudan, although given the small scale of the action at Abu Klea (for which they didn't receive a battle honour, incidentally, owing to being present only in detachment strength), I do wonder whether there would have been much opportunity for trophy-hunting; this is especially so in the light of comments regarding the poor state of arms in the Mahdist forces, and their subsequent augmentation with modern, captured Egyptian equipment, some 15 years earlier.

I will, naturally, remove the kaskara from its scabbard forthwith in order to avert the progress of further corrosion. With regard to the wire, I suppose that it might conceivably be fine leather, although it doesn't look, or feel, like it to my distinctly inexpert eye. If only I might send a sample.

Kaskara two en route!

[Dom]

sorry, wrong in put