Studying Originals, Recreating History

Hello archaeology aficionados,

The ingenious design and ergonomics of these weapons never cease to amaze me. Thanks to the courtesy of Professor Harald Meller and Dr Jan-Heinrich Bunnefeld, I had the opportunity to examine several bronze swords at the State Museum of Prehistory in Halle, home of the world-famous Nebra Sky Disc.

I am delighted to share a video showing the handling qualities of a particular Late Bronze Age sword. The example featured in this video (with English subtitles!) comes from a hoard find near Kuckenburg in Saxony-Anhalt. It is a variant of the so-called Tachlovice swords, related to the Mörigen type, dating to around 900–740 BC.

The video premiered on my Patreon.

Or watch on my YT channel.

You can also purchase a scan of my full-size illustration of this wonderful bronze sword in my shop on Patreon.

Virtual Reconstruction of the Marsleben Helmet

In a previous newsletter, I shared information about a remarkable 14th-century kettle hat and presented my illustrations of what it might have looked like in its heyday.

I subsequently created additional images — six illustrations in total. Oliver Wünsch and I used these as keyframes to create an AI-assisted animation based on my original artwork.

Producing the video required roughly 85 hours of work for a 25-second clip, so we hope you will enjoy the result.

You can watch the video

• either on Vimeo​
• or on my Patreon.

Don't miss to turn on the audio!😉

Why AI Cannot Replace Historical Reconstruction

From time to time I am asked whether generative AI might replace historically accurate illustration and reconstruction. The short answer is: not in any meaningful sense.

Generative AI works by recombining patterns from the material it has encountered most often. This makes it effective for generic, modern imagery, but it struggles with pre-modern history, where accuracy depends on specialist knowledge rather than visual familiarity.

Much of the imagery on which AI systems are trained consists of outdated reconstructions, popular illustrations, and pop-culture imagery. AI cannot distinguish these from current research, nor can it explain why one interpretation is more plausible than another.

The kind of work I do is based on close reading of archaeological evidence, recent scholarship, and informed judgement.

Many of the details that matter most — how equipment is constructed, worn, combined, and used — exist only in small bodies of specialist literature and niche research, and require interpretation rather than repetition.

These are precisely the areas where AI performs worst.

Generative AI cannot replace research-driven historical reconstruction.
What it can do is remove the technical barrier between illustration and animation.
By generating the hundreds or even thousands of intermediate frames that once required studio-level resources, it now allows independent illustrators to turn carefully researched artwork into film — a notable step toward greater artistic independence.

A Word on AI and Ecology

Some critics have pointed out that the data centres required to run AI systems consume significant amounts of energy and cooling water. These ecological concerns are valid, and anyone using generative AI should be aware of them.

In our case, all models are run locally rather than through cloud services. This allows us to track energy consumption quite precisely. Interestingly, rendering video with AI does not appear to consume more energy than playing video games. As I am not a gamer at all, I feel that making art instead is a reasonable use of that energy.

This is not meant to downplay the issue. The ongoing destruction of our natural habitat is very real. Personally, I have made efforts to reduce my ecological footprint in various ways, and if you are interested, I would be happy to share more about that.

Berlin Buckler Bouts 25 — Sign Up Now

Paging all fellow sword & buckler enthusiasts — I hope you are eager to train.

The next BBB are scheduled for the weekend of 30–31 May 2026. You can find information about the event and registration in my dedicated post.

See you in Berlin — shields up!🛡️

Roland

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