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Roman Slinger (Read 1699 times)
M. Demetrius
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Roman Slinger
Apr 16th, 2007 at 11:07pm
 
All right.  It's decided.  I'm putting together a 1st Century Roman slinger impression.  I'll put up photos here as things get done. Wink

I have bought some 100% linen to make a tunic.  I have shoes already, and a belt that will do.

Here's the things yet to do:

*Make the tunic (hand stitched, of course!)
*make a proper sling, probably braided
*make a small shield, round, about 24" in diameter
*figure out how the pouch would work, so the left hand can manage the shield and to keep the pouch open at the same time.
*make a pouch prototype--I have an idea for that
*make a casting mold for lead sling bullets (can use the same one, I think, for clay bullets)  Have to make some things to make this thing, though.  More info later.
*get to feel safe using the sling with dangerous bullets.  tennis balls are safe, lead bullets are not.

I've already tentatively decided the short sword would have to be worn on the left side (like an officer) since it would otherwise certainly get tied up with the sling sooner or later, and that wouldn't be a good thing.


Ok, watch this thread, and I will add the things as I get them done.  400 yards, eh?  Maybe not this week.  You could neither see nor hear one of those bullets from that far away.  The first volley could be totally a surprise attack!   Undecided  and the second could follow a few seconds later, before the defenders could get ready.   Shocked

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bigkahuna
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Re: Roman Slinger
Reply #1 - Apr 17th, 2007 at 12:15am
 
Hi. If you check out the posts by Johnny you will find a bunch of great pictures he has done of slingers from various time periods. They might be of some help to you.
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Curious Aardvark
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Re: Roman Slinger
Reply #2 - Apr 17th, 2007 at 4:42pm
 
wasn't aware that romans used small round shields. Surely a slinger would have the big curved beast - after all when the other side slings back a quick tortoise has got to be a darn sight safer than just waving a round shield vaguely in the air.
And why are you slinging one handed ?
Slingers would have had dug in positions and would have been unlikely to have been in the front ranks.

Curious to know what info you're working from :-)
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funda_iucunda
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Re: Roman Slinger
Reply #3 - Apr 21st, 2007 at 5:42pm
 
Salve Demetrie!

Your plans are very interesting. I am preparing a tunic, too (but I can not decide to go further at the moment). As far as I know the slingers of the first century where mostly auxiliary soldiers from the newer provinces who not necessarily used roman equipment. So a round shield does not seem to be extremly unlikely. On the Trajan and M. Aurelius Columns some slingers are depicted. But I do not remember whether they show shields. I will have a look at the fotos.

curious aardvark,
dug in positions seems to be very reasonable to me, because slingers had to fear enemy cavalry, which was the only enemy for them to fear (exept better slingers in the enemy ranks as Xenophon tells). Are there any textual resources prooving that slingers positions have actually been fortificated?

funda iucunda
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funda_iucunda
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Watt den een sin Uhl is
den annern sin Nachtigal.

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Re: Roman Slinger
Reply #4 - Apr 28th, 2007 at 4:31pm
 
I found a picture of an Roman auxiliary slinger in the article of Korfmann "The Sling as a Weapon" on page 36. It's from the Trajan column. The slinger in the front caries a shield. But the artist shows it in perspective that it is difficult to decide whether it is round or oval. The soldiers next to him have oval shields. But their weapons are not visible, so they may not be slingers. After all this picture doesn't help deciding this question. Undecided

funda iucunda
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