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Real
Roman Glandes |
I
had the opportunity to put some ceramics experience to
use and make projectiles more similar to historical ones.
Specifically,
I was trying to emulate the Roman’s glands, an American
football (or rugby) shaped projectile about 1-3 inches
long. Historically these projectiles were made from lead,
ceramic, or stone. The design was purportedly supposed
to extend range, accuracy, and effectiveness. I wanted
to put it to the test. I was also curious to see if the
football-like projectiles would tumble through the air
or fly like a “bullet.”
I also made spherical projectiles, as I hadn’t found
many perfect stones, to get a sense of their range. I
hoped to compare the range of the two shapes, but to make
the test fair, it was better to use the same material
density and weight (so that shape was the only variable).
I took a trip to the town park and situated my bucket
full or projectiles on one end of the (American) football
field (100 yards or 300 feet) to get a bearing of my range.
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Real
Roman Glandes |
Initially
my casts were a bit off. I’d like to blame it
on the fact that I was getting used to the different
projectiles, but it’s more likely my shameful
slinging skill was at fault. Eventually I got the hang
of it and was getting good throws. I had a runner out
in the field to gauge my range and to bring the projectiles
back, as I had a limited number.
The range was certainly better than chucking any old
rock I found on the ground. I was getting perhaps 350
feet with a 3-foot sling (underarm, which is pretty
good for me as I’m not particularly strong). I
also noticed that my accuracy was much better, landing
near (and almost hitting) my runner quite constantly.
There wasn’t an obvious difference in distance
between the two types, although overall, I think that
the spherical ones were more accurate. It was extraordinarily
hard to see if the football-shaped ones were tumbling
or not. I hope to do more trials in the future.
-
Chris Harrison
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