Seeking info on this double-edged metal weapon

[AZEllen]

Thank you for allowing me to join; I'm looking forward to enjoying this forum!

My husband and I unearthed this whatever-it-is about 25+ years ago while out in the Arizona desert using our metal detectors. It was found at the base of a tree, just below the surface of the soil. It's been tucked away since then, but a friend saw it yesterday and said we should REALLY try to find out what it is and possibly its age.

I've done the best I could with the photos, but realize they're not great. I'm not even positive about the letters, but as nearly as I can tell, it reads "Mayagendon" or something very close to that.

Any help will be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance!

 

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[AZEllen]

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[AZEllen]

ANTIQUARIAN, as nearly as my husband recollects, it was a big, old mesquite tree, a more-than-common sight here in the central Arizona desert!

 

[unclemac]

you can kind of tell if it is "real" also by how sturdy it is. Is it thin, is it "too well made" does it show wear, was it ever sharpened? etc.

 

[ANTIQUARIAN]

You just made my day, Antiquarian! Thank you so much!

ANTIQUARIAN, as nearly as my husband recollects, it was a big, old mesquite tree, a more-than-common sight here in the central Arizona desert!

You're very welcome Ellen, happy that I could be of some help.
Hope you and your husband are able to get some answers to your 'mystery point'.
Dave

 

[ANTIQUARIAN]

Here’s an interesting article I found while researching the lifespan of the Mesquite Tree.

“The Pima Indians knew the tree as the “Tree of Life.” Interestingly, the people of Bahrain still describe one Mesquite tree that way. It is over 400 years old and lives near the highest point in Bahrain, far from any known source of water. Mesquites have been called “an elemental force of nature — too valuable to exterminate, yet too dangerous to go unwatched.” The common Mesquite grows in dry areas almost everywhere on earth, thanks to humans who treasure the food and wood it provides.

Every part of a Mesquite is useful. Today as in the past we use the wood in great quantities for smoking meats. Mesquite wood is an excellent fuel and was sought after by all Native American groups and Europeans as well. Havard in 1884 described how Europeans found Mesquite wood: “Sometimes, in the Southwest, camps are pitched on plains where no timber or fuel of any sort is visible. It is then that the frontiersman, armed with a spade and axe, goes digging for wood. He notices a low mound, on whose summit lie a few dead mesquite twigs; within it he finds large, creeping roots, which afford an ample supply of excellent fuel.” It is the frequent use of Mesquite roots for fuel that is the source of the expression that men in the West “dig for wood and climb for water.”

More than 200 plants and animal species depend on the mesquite tree for survival and reproduction. Bees in arid areas rely on its pollen to produce food for their young and honey for the winter. Deer, javelina, coyotes, jackrabbits, skunks, turkey, quail, and doves greedily consume the beans along with livestock of all kinds.

Removing Mesquites in Arizona has resulted in reducing the numbers of 36 of the 82 kinds of birds that depend on the flood-plain mesquite forest habitat. No wonder — removing Mesquites results in a significant decline in the soil’s nutrient availability, along with a decline in the amounts of Phosphorus, Potassium, and Sulfur — everything suffers when Mesquites are removed.

In light of the many benefits Mesquite provides, it is beginning to appear that Mesquite should be treated as a resource-to-be-managed rather than as a threat to business. Learning how to reverse the changes we have made in the way Mesquite grows and how to take advantage of what it has to offer is one of the great ecological challenges facing us today.”

 

[WG2020]

Ellen,

Welcome to Tnet from Dayton, Ohio. What an interesting relic you and your husband found. As you can see from the posts so far, Tnet has an amazing community of treasure hunters who love a good mystery to unravel. I hope to see further posts of the treasures you and your husband find. Good luck with your hunts. Walt

 

[AZEllen]

you can kind of tell if it is "real" also by how sturdy it is. Is it thin, is it "too well made" does it show wear, was it ever sharpened? etc.

Well, for starters, let me say it is EXTREMELY sturdy. I wouldn't know how to define "too well made," but there's nothing flimsy about it! It weighs 1#, 6.6 oz. Yes, it shows wear. It simply looks and feels old; it's not a slick piece, it's a bit crude, for lack of a better term. There is one place along the blade that has a little nick out of it. I have no way of telling if it was ever sharpened, but it isn't sharp today.

 

[Radon]

Welcome to the group! I, too, am looking forward to hearing more. Please let us know what you find out!

 

[AZEllen]

Ellen,

Welcome to Tnet from Dayton, Ohio. What an interesting relic you and your husband found. As you can see from the posts so far, Tnet has an amazing community of treasure hunters who love a good mystery to unravel. I hope to see further posts of the treasures you and your husband find. Good luck with your hunts. Walt

Hi Walt, and thanks for your warm welcome! Only a couple of days, and I've already had SUCH enjoyment from this site and its intelligent members! I can see I'll be spending a LOT of time on here, to further my education! And already my husband has dug out another 'mystery item' we're hopeful of identifying!
Warmest regards....... (P.S. Do you know where Lancaster, PA is? It's my hometown!)

 

[WG2020]

Ellen,

Glad to see you are enjoying the site. Yes, there are a lot of knowledgeable folks on this site, I am truly amazed when reading some of the posts. I do know where Lancaster, PA is but have not yet had the pleasure of visiting the city. Reach out anytime you have a question, while I am can’t guarantee I will have an answer, I can probably point you to a member who can assist you. Good luck with your hunts. Walt

 

[ARC]

The name Maragondon is a Spanish approximation of the Tagalog word maragundong (madagundong) which means "having a rumbling or thunderous sound".

 

[ARC]

Maragondon, Cavite... is also a place... perhaps this is from there.

Ooops... i am sorry... I read the word as "maragondon".

SO...

Everything i am saying is based upon that spelling / reading... IF correct... etc.

 

[AZEllen]

The name Maragondon is a Spanish approximation of the Tagalog word maragundong (madagundong) which means "having a rumbling or thunderous sound".

That's interesting! But now I read your "oops" post. . .

 

[ARC]

That's interesting! But now I read your "oops" post. . .

Welll as I stated... I read your item as "Maragondon"... which is what i would bet it says... I only said oops because of your interpretation and several others.

But again... I see "Maragondon".

Now... I threw the bone out there... Its up to you to go from here.

 

[cw0909]

Ellen, cool relic
not sure if this is a lead or not
i googled the words juan riel maragondon found a link
and it took me to a FB pg, Maragondon, Cavite History

found the name Juan Riel on that pg listed as a
former Town Head,from 1869-1870 see below @link
EDIT to add
the name is in the 2nd round after 00. on the list
about 1/2 way down
---------------------
List of former Town Heads

For more than three centuries officials of Maragondon have scrupulously
kept a complete of its town heads from its establishment as a municipality
to the present. The list follows:
Governadorcillos

00.
33.Juan Riel 1869-1870
https://zh-cn.facebook.com/notes/maragondonian-community/maragondon-cavite-history/734922733232278

 

[GoDeep]

Though the blade is pitted, the lack of rust where the bluing has worn off exposing bare metal, makes me think it's a more modern piece or a piece kept indoors, not a piece exposed to the elements for several hundred years, as even the desert gets rain.

 

[unclemac]

true....all the metal I have found in the high deserts have been very evenly brown.

 

[ARC]

Ellen, cool relic
not sure if this is a lead or not
i googled the words juan riel maragondon found a link
and it took me to a FB pg, Maragondon, Cavite History

found the name Juan Riel on that pg listed as a
former Town Head,from 1869-1870 see below @link
EDIT to add
the name is in the 2nd round after 00. on the list
about 1/2 way down
---------------------
List of former Town Heads

For more than three centuries officials of Maragondon have scrupulously
kept a complete of its town heads from its establishment as a municipality
to the present. The list follows:
Governadorcillos

00.
33.Juan Riel 1869-1870
https://zh-cn.facebook.com/notes/maragondonian-community/maragondon-cavite-history/734922733232278

Ahh yes... and I rest my case.

 

[CRUSADER]

Though the blade is pitted, the lack of rust where the bluing has worn off exposing bare metal, makes me think it's a more modern piece or a piece kept indoors, not a piece exposed to the elements for several hundred years, as even the desert gets rain.

View attachment 1911843

I agree, even the letters look modern.

 

[AZEllen]

Thank you SO much for this information! What a great lead!