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Gamma-shaped hilt dagger

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The gamma-shaped hilt dagger[1] (in Italian: Pugnale ad elsa gammata) is a type of bronze dagger typical of the Nuragic civilization in Sardinia. It owes its name to the inverted gamma-shaped handle. Used for animal sacrifices, they are widespread in Nuragic sanctuaries. [1]

They are dated to the early Iron Age and are often represented in the Nuragic bronze statuettes on men's chests; according to some scholars they appeared as early as the Late Bronze Age.[2] It was a weapon with a strong symbolic value, a sign of belonging to the social body.

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Notes

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  1. ^ Jump up to: a b Dagger with a gammadion-shaped hilt (Nuraghic complex of Albucciu), retrieved 3 January 2024
  2. ^ MiBACT, Il pugnale ad elsa gammata nella civiltà nuragica (in Italian), retrieved 3 January 2024

Bibliography

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  • Nadia Canu, Antonella Fois, Il pugnale ad elsa gammata nella civiltà nuragica Nuove attestazioni iconografiche da contesti santuariali, 2016