[Jim McDougall]

Very well put Gonzalo, and it is well that the dreary Euro-Centric 'Hamitic Hypothesis' and 'Dark Continent' images of African civilizations (as described by Basil Davidson in "Africa in History", 1966, p.11) have been substantially put to rest, and it is true of course that while Europe muddled through the Dark Ages, civilization in North Africa shone brightly.

Mostly what I was referring to in reference to 'iconographic' influence concerned the stylistic appearance of weapon forms in accord with images of clearly ancient examples. In looking at distinct forms such as the shotel, the kukri, the sapara and others that seem reflected in a number of ethnographic weapon forms that appear to have sprung up relatively recently in ethnic regions, to me suggests that they have been produced to recall proudly ancient tradition.

With respect to weapons that recall earlier traditions, but far more pragmatically, such as the takouba and kaskara, these certainly carry a degree of influence from the hilts of earlier swords from the Crusades period. However, thier development in volume as indiginous weapons was primarily a result of the influx of trade blades into those trade networks throughout North Africa. Therefore these swords developed more from known and actual weapons from those periods than from possibly iconographic images.

There can be no doubt that metallurgically, Islamic swordsmiths were far advanced and possibly a certain degree of their expertise may have entered European blademaking technology. One key to their expertise however, seems to have been primarily associated with the steel from the Indian Subcontinent known as wootz. While these cakes of premier quality steel was certainly exported to many places, the methods of forging it were held secret by Persian and Damascus smiths. There is considerable speculation that in some degree at least some part of their methods were incorporated into European methods, but as far as is known, the famed 'watered steel' was never entirely duplicated in the 'west' (that is until modern versions at least).

During these times in Europe, there was also fine steel found in the regions in the Rhineland, now Solingen; as well as Passau, to the Romans, Noricum.
The Franks were known for thier fine sword blades, and supplied most of Europe into the North, even at times, supplying Islamic armourers. There were high quality blades being forged in the Iberian peninsula as well, with the Celitibereans, and the quality was certainly greatly enhanced by the influence of the Moors and thier metallurgic technology, as previously noted.

It is interesting anthropologically how cultural and ethnographic groups can move over extended time to distant geographic regions, and as various conditions dictate, sometimes return much later to the same regions they left. In this phenomenon they have obviously changed dramatically and assimilated other cultures and groups into thiers and as they enter the now also very much changed former regions, diffusion convenes once again.
This is basically how my reference to Celtic influence in North Africa was intended, in most subtle degree. My inference was regarding the possible adoption of weapon forms by imitating earlier styles as described from possibly iconographic sources.....again noting the absence of progressive line of development shown archaeologically or from provenanced sources.

All best regards,
Jim