Skeletons of women warriors found

[kenb]

Women warriors may have battled in ancient Cambodia
5 hours ago

TOKYO (AFP) — Archaeologists have found female skeletons buried with metal swords in Cambodian ruins, indicating there may have been a civilisation with female warriors, the mission head said Thursday.

The team dug up 35 human skeletons at five locations in Phum Snay in northwestern Cambodia in research earlier this year, said Japanese researcher Yoshinori Yasuda, who led the team.

"Five of them were perfect skeletons and we have confirmed all of them were those of females," Yasuda told AFP. The skeletons were believed to date back to the first to fifth century AD.

The five were found buried together with steel or bronze swords, and helmet-shaped objects, said Yasuda, who is from the government-backed International Research Center for Japanese Studies.

"It is very rare that swords are found with women. This suggests it was a realm where female warriors were playing an active role," he said.

"Women traditionally played the central role in the rice-farming and fishing societies," he said. "It's originally a European concept that women are weak and therefore should be protected."

"The five skeletons were well preserved because they had been buried in important spots at the tombs," he said.

It was the first time that large-scale research was conducted on the Phum Snay relics, which were found in 1999.

It is believed there was a civilisation inhabited with several thousand rice-farming people between the first to fifth century.

kenb

 

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[EDDE]

SUPER MODELS?

 

[kenb]

Thats the first thing that came to my mind!

kenb

 

[LadyDigger]

I can believe that...that those women fought in a war. While in college taking a course of WOMEN IN MANAGEMENT...I had to write a paper on women who ran/owned businesses throughout the years.

It wasn't then until I learned of all the women who fought in wars (i.e., Revoluntary, Civil). Many women went with their husbands and some even with their children, to the battle fields. Women have disquished themselves as men to fight, some even received pensions!!! Which I also added this bit of history to my report! These are things we are NOT taught in school!

Women are far from being the weaker sex!!! If anything, we are the stronger sex....can a man carry a child for 9 months and spend 13 hours in labor giving birth (more than once)?

 

[MoTwister]

I believe that the late princess Di said that if men had to have children, they would only have 1.

 

[Gypsy Heart]

There were many many women warriors over the centuries. Here is my favorite.
Boudicca Celtic Queen
"She was huge of frame, terrifying of aspect, and with a harsh voice. A great mass of bright red hair fell to her knees: She wore a great twisted golden necklace, and a tunic of many colors, over which was a thick mantle, fastened by a brooch. Now she grasped a spear, to strike fear into all who watched her...…"
While by Roman law Boudicca had no real claim to succession after her husband's death, her people regarded her as their natural leader, and their neighboring tribes were willing to support any anti-Roman uprising. The indigenous people had suffered under Roman taxation for years. They were also driven off their own land and subjected to lives as prisoners and slaves.
These realities urged neighboring tribes, among them were the Trinovantes, to join Boudicca in her rebellion, which has been said to have been 100,000 people strong, against Roman forces. They began by storming the Roman cities of Camulodunum and Colchester, then proceeding to the growing trade center of Londinium (London), and ending in a final catastrophic battle.
At this point the three principle cities of the province had been captured, and the inhabitants brutally massacred. Tacitus gives a count of roughly 70,000 casualties before the final battle. No one is sure exactly when and where this final confrontation took place. Both sides struggled with famine and disease. Boudicca was having a difficult time keeping order among her troops after victory with its accompanying looting and burning.
The British were fighting for their country and their families, while the Romans were still fighting for greed. Tacitus gives us what was supposedly Boudicca's final battle cry to her troops:


"The Britons were used to the leadership of women, but she came back before them not as a queen of a distinguished line, but as an ordinary woman, her body cut by the lash avenging the loss of her liberty, and the outrages imposed on her daughters. Roman greed spares neither their bodies, the old or the virgins. The gods were on our side in our quest for vengeance, one legion had already perished, the others are cowering in their forts to escape. They could never face the roar of our thousands, least of all our charge and hand to hand fighting. When the Romans realize their small force and the justice of our cause, they will know it is victory or death. This is my resolve, as a woman- follow me or submit to the Roman yoke" (Webster, 99).

The British army was immense, but the Romans were at an advantage for the first time with more armor and shorter swords. The Celts had longer slashing swords and little to no armor. Unintimidated by the barbaric chaos, the Roman army advanced rapidly into the British mass. The Romans swords proved to be deadly at close quarters, while the British were crushed so close together their longer weapons were rendered useless. Under the command of Seutonius, the Romans massacred the Celts. Fearing capture, Boudicca escaped and fled back to her kingdom where she ended her life by taking a poison. A few months later fire and sword ravaged the previously untouched Iceni territory.

the rebellion of Boudicca has an established and monumental place in British history. While over time she has been viewed in many different lights, she is most commonly seen as the obvious; not a queen, but a mother, wife, and warrior defending her country. Throughout history all-powerful men are seen as threatening, but all-powerful women such as the late queen of the Iceni are awe-inspiring. In numerous written accounts both on stage and off, as well as through works of art, Boudicca has been both disparaged and lauded. Her name and history will consistently serve as a brutal yet remarkable reminder of Britain's past

 

[Tubecity]

Excellent story, I watched a program on Boudicca that was shown on
the History channel. Well worth watching.