Following the Balearic Island Documentation, I can document the use of hemp. If flax ( Linen) was used I don't have a reference yet to it.
And I think the source was one of the same ones that I was using. It's the english translation of L'Arte de la Bassetia that this sites hosts over in the general discussion forum.
Looks like the favortie fiber used by the current Slingers was the Esparato fiber. Unfortunately that fiber causes occupational illness in thos exposed to it. I also keep hearing of a fiber called pita..don't know if it is the same thing or not
Would love to try a horsehair sling but that would probably get me kicked out of my ranching family, not to mention all the jokes at the next family reunion.....
"Hey Marc, why don't ya tell us what you were really doing in the stable that one afternoon........"
Marc Adkins
funda_iucunda wrote on Aug 30
th, 2008 at 5:25pm:
What is about flax? The "Petrie's sling" from Lahun in Egypt was made out of it. Flax has been grown by menkind since the early stages of agriculture. It was at hand all around the mediterranean sea and it does very well as material for slings. I normally use it and so far it never broke. (I have a flax sling where I covered the pouch with leather. The leather coverings have been torn off twice already, but the flax is still ok.)
Somewhere I read that horse hair was used too. Unfortunately I do not remember the source. I suppose that the hair of the tail is ment. That would be a marvellous material. But horses where expensive in ancient times and theire tails as well, I suppose. So it would not be the cheaply available material for the normally poor slingers (except on the battle field
).
funda iucunda
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Oklahoma Historical Balearic Slinger :) (Read 20655 times)
