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I'm dying of curiosity, anyone know what this inscription would have said? (Read 2519 times)
Thearos
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Re: I'm dying of curiosity, anyone know what this inscription would have said?
Reply #15 - Apr 24th, 2017 at 1:39am
 
I see that these bullets are treated by the most recent, and comprehensive, article on the topic:

https://www.cairn.info/load_pdf.php?download=1&ID_ARTICLE=ARCH_132_0227

A. Avram says the name is Cretan (Αἶνις); sling bullets found at Antikythera with that (and other Cretan names) might be linked to the so-called Cretan War of 205 BCE. I.e. (as usual on sling bullets) it's the name of an officer (at least in Greek, sling bullets with insults are super rare; the only good attested example ,"Dexai", take that, was almost certainly produced by Roman armies besieging Athens in 86 BCE)
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« Last Edit: Apr 24th, 2017 at 3:14am by Thearos »  
 
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Curious Aardvark
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Re: I'm dying of curiosity, anyone know what this inscription would have said?
Reply #16 - Apr 24th, 2017 at 4:40am
 
Sigh, oh well.
still at least i've learnt how to write 'up yours' in several different languages Smiley

There are a lot of greek sling bullets on ebay.
even some that claim to be bronze from 1500 bc. Are they likely to be genuine.
can't recall of anyone mentioning bronze bulletd before.

Occurs to me they would be very easy to fake. An acid bath, hammer and dirt could easily 'age' bronze.
Given how valuable bronze was back then, would they have made bullets from it ?
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Do All things with Honour and Generosity: Regret Nothing, Envy None, Apologise Seldom and Bow your head to No One  - works for me Smiley
 
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Shale
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Re: I'm dying of curiosity, anyone know what this inscription would have said?
Reply #17 - Apr 24th, 2017 at 12:53pm
 
Thearos, thanks for the information! My French is very rusty, but if I understand the article correctly, sling bullets include the names of kings, of army commanders and even (relatively) low-level unit leaders. Do you know why a particular sling bullet would have one name and not another? Does it have anything to do with who supplied or paid for the ammunition?
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Shale

As he that bindeth a stone in a sling, so is he that giveth honor to a fool. (Proverbs 26.8)
 
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Bill Skinner
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Re: I'm dying of curiosity, anyone know what this inscription would have said?
Reply #18 - Apr 24th, 2017 at 3:06pm
 
Theros is right as far as you shouldn't buy actual antiques  from unknown sources on E Bay, the unknown sources are usually either looted from ancient sites or, most commonly, fakes.

I knapp and sell modern reproduction arrowheads, knife blades and the like, I've seen stuff that I, personally, have made, both in reference books about points and for sale on E Bay.  As far as actual stone points for sale on E Bay, 90%+ are modern fakes.  I'm betting most of the lead glands are too.

So, while it's possible that the gland is an artifact, it has a much better chance of being a fake.  And the gland doesn't have the same patina as the ones posted on here in previous threads. Or, if it is ancient, it has been handled a lot and worn the patina off.  And that last is a bad thing, who ever handled it probably got a pretty good dose of lead.

Lead being highly poisonous is the main reason that most slingers on here only use it sparingly.  Pretty near everyone goes through an experimental phase where they try it but not too many people sling it very much.
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Drakolith
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Re: I'm dying of curiosity, anyone know what this inscription would have said?
Reply #19 - Apr 25th, 2017 at 8:44am
 
Thanks for the info guys. Finally the mystery is solved! Whew... feels good, my curiosity was really killing me  Grin
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