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Metal in war

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• Metal in war
• The frieze shown here, dating from the mid-7th century BC, depicts well-armoured and disciplined Assyrian troops of Assurbanipal (668-627) driving off lightly equipped camel-mounted Arab raiders. Assyrian art, as can be seen here, glories in the power of its military machine, which is shown overwhelming all opposition both in open battle and in sieges.

The heavy infantry and cavalry in the frieze all wear metal helmets, and armour for the torso. Great siege engines are shown with metal-tipped battering rams smashing down the walls of enemy cities.

Assyria was the dominant power in Mesopotamia for half a millennium, from c.1350 to 609 BC, and it derived its strength from its urban centres, where metal was worked. Bronze was one of these metals, and was used for military purposes from the Sumerian period (2,500 BC) onwards. Then around 1,000 BC the Assyrians developed iron weapons. Iron was more difficult to smelt and work, but much stronger than bronze.

The Assyrian Empire fell when its capital, Nineveh, was conquered by previously subject tribes in 612. Yet the use of metal continued to symbolise military power in the works of art of many subsequent cultures.

Rome has frequently been represented by its iron-clad legionaries. The medieval knight wore armour that by 1500 AD had become an all-enveloping suit. Nor was iron restricted to use on the person. Gunpowder weapons grew in importance as metal-working techniques developed, especially following the Industrial Revolution.

Modern warfare is inconceivable without the rarest and highest grade metals used in weapons, equipment, tanks, guns, aircraft and even satellites. The longest-lasting reminder of World War One is the sheer mass of metal still to be found in France and Belgium - in the form of artillery shells.