I’m studying Archaeology as a retirement project and I am planning a Masters dissertation on the topic of the defence qualities of Iron Age ramparts. I know some of you expert slingers have commented on previous experiments by Jon Bryant Finney and it occurred to me to ask if it might be possible to enlist your expertise in the design and conduct of my study.

What I’m looking into is whether the changes of rampart design in the Middle Iron Age did improve how well the hillforts could be defended by slingers. (The ramparts changed shape, and additional ramparts were added; many authorities think this wasn’t to do with improving defence.) Unlike Finney’s experiment, range would not be the only issue; I’d want to consider accuracy and how you’d achieve the right trajectory to exploit the design of the ramparts.

If I get to doing quantified experiments, I’d want to use expert slingers as participants (I have previous experience of human performance experiments), but a qualitative examination of the idea would come first, again with expert input being necessary.

The hillforts I’m talking about are mostly in southern England and in Wales, and if I do an experiment I’d probably be using a suitably-shaped hillside in southern England, so slingers in this area would be most useful, but of course input by email could also help.

If you'd be interested in helping, please let me know.

Thanks,

Pete Robertson

CA and David moringstar are in your country (not really sure about geography), as well as a few others I believe, and they have been slinging for a good while now. 

If you have any questions on authenticity or just general slinging the group on here will have an answer for you.

Welcome!

I'd like to look at some paintings of the fort, taken from above... I'm thinking to a defensive "building" found in my Region, dating to the Copper Age.
It's very peculiar for it's moat, seen from the sky, is like a }
This allowed slingers or archers to take invaders into a crossed fire!
Greetings,
Mauro.

Pete, Get a load of the event Rockman just posted!!! This may give you some idea what two bodies of troops armed with slings may have looked like.

This appears to be a project I can sink my teeth into.

Tactics 101...When the enemy's in range...so are you!!! Remember there's probably a very good chance that the force attacking your hillfort has a contigent of slingers that are hell-bent on clearing your guys off the parapets.

kentuckythrower wrote on Jan 28^th, 2012 at 6:21am:


The elevation of the hill gives a huge range advantage to the defenders. Trying to sling at the defenders would be a dicey proposition. The Romans did successfully use slingers against hillforts but they were almost certainly using lead bullets to offset the height disadvantage. British slingers only used stone or baked clay ammo.

Strangely, there is no evidence of archery in Iron Age Britain. I find impossible to believe there wasnt any, but the lack of finds is remarkable.

Thank you Pete!
I'm going to look for them now; I'll also look for these defences I wrote you about and compare these aerial photographs.
Later,
Mauro.