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General >> Project Goliath - The History of The Sling >> Assyrian sling ammo from the British Museum
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Message started by David Morningstar on May 21st, 2009 at 5:31am

Title: Assyrian sling ammo from the British Museum
Post by David Morningstar on May 21st, 2009 at 5:31am
This is a cameraphone snap from a mate who was in the British Museum recently. He saw this and thought "Oh, Dave will like this...."

Its Assyrian, and the shot are about the size of a lemon.



14-05-09_1500.jpg (23 KB | )

Title: Re: Assyrian sling ammo from the British Museum
Post by Fundibularius on May 21st, 2009 at 8:17am
The first artificial pre-Greek sling ammo I've seen. Thanks! Do you know whar they are made of? Clay? Surely not lead, I presume?

Title: Re: Assyrian sling ammo from the British Museum
Post by Timothy Potter on May 21st, 2009 at 10:16am
Is that the same display that's in the historical images gallery?

-Timothy Potter

Title: Re: Assyrian sling ammo from the British Museum
Post by David Morningstar on May 21st, 2009 at 10:16am

Fundibularius wrote on May 21st, 2009 at 8:17am:
The first artificial pre-Greek sling ammo I've seen. Thanks! Do you know whar they are made of? Clay? Surely not lead, I presume?


Try this for even earlier sling ammo....  http://chronicle.uchicago.edu/070118/hamoukar.shtml

I am assuming they are clay. I tried looking for them on the BM website without success: http://www.britishmuseum.org/research.aspx

Title: Re: Assyrian sling ammo from the British Museum
Post by David Morningstar on May 21st, 2009 at 10:22am

Timothy Potter wrote on May 21st, 2009 at 10:16am:
Is that the same display that's in the historical images gallery?

-Timothy Potter


So it is, well spotted! http://slinging.org/index.php?mact=Album,m5,default,1&m5albumid=4&m5returnid=53&page=53

Title: Re: Assyrian sling ammo from the British Museum
Post by Fundibularius on May 21st, 2009 at 1:18pm

David Morningstar wrote on May 21st, 2009 at 10:16am:
[
Try this for even earlier sling ammo....  http://chronicle.uchicago.edu/070118/hamoukar.shtml


Wow, that is impressive! Never heard about it, I must admit. Shame on me.

Title: Re: Assyrian sling ammo from the British Museum
Post by Thearos on May 21st, 2009 at 5:00pm
Are the BM ones simply round stones ?

Title: Re: Assyrian sling ammo from the British Museum
Post by David Morningstar on Oct 20th, 2009 at 6:17pm

These are the items in the BM online database:

http://www.britishmuseum.org/research/search_the_collection_database/search_results.aspx?searchText=flint+sling+stone&fromADBC=ad&toADBC=ad&numpages=10&images=on&orig=/research/search_the_collection_database.aspx&currentPage=1

Another pic of it that I found online and snaffled:


DSCF0043.jpg (331 KB | )

Title: Re: Assyrian sling ammo from the British Museum
Post by slingbadger on Oct 20th, 2009 at 6:25pm
Many of the Hamoukar  are 21/2 inches in diameter, and show deformities ranging from being flattened slightly to being mushroomed. The constant bombardment, along with fire, is thought to have brought the walls down.
 It is currently the earliest known evidence of slings used in warfare.

Title: Re: Assyrian sling ammo from the British Museum
Post by curious_aardvark on Nov 23rd, 2009 at 8:56am

Quote:
“The attack must have been swift and intense. Buildings collapsed, burning out of control, burying everything in them under vast piles of rubble,”


Incendiaries, probably slung.

Title: Re: Assyrian sling ammo from the British Museum
Post by ShuKoon Deda on Dec 18th, 2009 at 10:48pm
I have just one question: does anybody have any idea how old are these stones, as it says on the photograph.
To say Assyrian means from the 20th to the 7th century BC. The period could explain why on the BM link there are only flint bullets, and flint is the third hardest stone there is (right after obsidian and diamond).

Title: Re: Assyrian sling ammo from the British Museum
Post by Timothy Potter on Dec 21st, 2009 at 8:53pm

ShuKoon Deda wrote on Dec 18th, 2009 at 10:48pm:
I have just one question: does anybody have any idea how old are these stones, as it says on the photograph.
To say Assyrian means from the 20th to the 7th century BC. The period could explain why on the BM link there are only flint bullets, and flint is the third hardest stone there is (right after obsidian and diamond).


According to the information on the British Museum website, the stones came from Lachish. The siege of Lachish by the Assyrians occurred in 701 B.C.

-Timothy Potter

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