Why are a majority of ancient swords found in river beds?

Answer 1

There are many reasons for this, depending on the exact culture or group of people who owned the swords.

In the Dark Ages in Europe and before, there were such things as "ritual killings" which usually took place near rivers. The sword used for the ritual may have been deposited in the river with the bodies.

These such events were usually carried out by Celts - when a person was killed ritually, usually someone captured from battle such as a Roman soldier, the weapon used was deposited in the river with the body. It was usually a cheap weapon too rather than an expensive ceremonial one. Archaeologists have found such remains, a Roman body with Celtic weapons nearby, in rivers across France and Britain.

During ancient times, rivers were the fastest method of travel, especially with heavy cargo. Ships would sometimes run aground, be attacked by bandits or toppled and sink, dropping the cargo into the water. Metal swords would survive longer in water than the wooden boats. The most famous example of this is Dordogne, in France, where nicely preserved swords (preserved by anaerobic properties in the river) were found in barrels underwater after a transport barge was reported to have sunk there in historical documents.

Horsemen also crossed rivers on horseback. Sometimes they would lose objects to the river when the flow is too fast or where they weren't secured tightly enough to the horse.

They could have been a burial item. This could be true in the case of Viking lords and Viking kings. They were usually laid to rest on a Longboat, which was set alight and then pushed into a river, lake or the sea. Most of the contents would be cremated with the body, but the metal objects such as swords would survive and sink to the bottom of the water source. Swords were very expensive and used as a sign of your position in society, therefore the owner was usually cremated with them.

Battles are another reason. Rivers were used as defensive positions, since they would slow down an advancing army. Many invading soldiers were slaughtered by barrages of arrows as they tried to cross rivers to invade a city or country.

There are also accounts of soldiers through history using rivers to escape from the enemy, many of which were killed by arrows or drowned by the weight of their armour and weapons.

Man-made canals have also been built through some former battlefields. Which would cause any swords and other material to end up at the bottom of the man-made river.

Some ancient civilisations practiced religious sacrificial offerings. Usually by sacrificing a human or animal in a river and then gifting the swords or daggers used by leaving them behind, along with food, wares and pottery.

Some even used rivers as a dump-site for things they wanted to throw away. Especially when new technology or new conquerors took over a city. Swords would have been one of the things that they may have thrown away in the rivers or castle moats (which may now be rivers today).

Some damaged weapons were thrown away in rivers too. This was certainly true at Flag Fen, a Bronze Age archaeological site in England.

There is also the possibility that some weapons found in riverbeds may not be there purposefully. They may have been on the land, as a result of being dropped or a battle which took place on the land, over time the river will erode the banks and expand. Which would cause anything buried in the land around the river to end up at the bottom of it.