The nature of war and conflict during the Bronze Age is a frequent subject of debate. The appearance of metal daggers and ornate flint arrowheads from 2500 BC, bronze spearheads from 1750 BC, long rapiers from 1400 BC, and heavy bronze swords from 1300 BC, gives the impression of an ‘arms race’. However the deliberate placing of weapons in graves and hoards implies that they had a strong symbolic meaning for Bronze Age people. In part they may have helped define social rank and the changing types may indicate changing modes of combat rather than an increasing scale of combat.

Analysis of the spear and sword blades as well as traces of trauma on skeletons has shown that combat did take place. However, the importance of weapons for display is demonstrated above all by ornate beaten bronze shields dating from 1300 BC onwards. These would have offered little resistance to any blade and so cannot have had a practical use in combat. The personal appearance of warriors was probably very important and this probably extended to their clothing and dress fittings. They might also have shaved their hair using bronze razors and painted their skin. No evidence for metal armour is known in Britain, so it must have been made of tough organic material such as leather.