Posted on 06/13/2016 11:55:25 PM PDT by SunkenCiv
Some 1,800 years ago, Roman troops used "whistling" sling bullets as a "terror weapon" against their barbarian foes, according to archaeologists who found the cast lead bullets at a site in Scotland.
Weighing about 1 ounce (30 grams), each of the bullets had been drilled with a 0.2-inch (5 millimeters) hole that the researchers think was designed to give the soaring bullets a sharp buzzing or whistling noise in flight.
The bullets were found recently at Burnswark Hill in southwestern Scotland, where a massive Roman attack against native defenders in a hilltop fort took place in the second century A.D...
Sling bullets and stones are a common find at Roman army battle sites in Europe. The largest are typically shaped like lemons and weigh up to 2 ounces (60 grams), Reid said.
Smaller bullets shaped like acorns a symbol the Romans considered lucky have also been found at Burnswark Hill and other sites in Scotland...
Reid's brother, a keen fisherman, offered some insight into their possible purpose when he suggested the bullets were designed to make noise in flight...
At the time of the Roman attack on Burnswark Hill, slings were used mainly by specialized units of auxiliary troops ("auxilia") recruited to fight alongside the Roman legions.
Among the most feared were slingers from the Balearic Islands, an archipelago near Spain in the western Mediterranean...
(Excerpt) Read more at livescience.com ...
Some more recent old dead white guys were extremely inventive.
The brain dead leftist of today still hate them, because they are unable to match their building skills. Leftist never build anything, only know how to destroy.
Creativity is a gift. Yes, skills and knowledge can be taught, but wisdom and creativity is not as easily transmitted.
Oops. Up very late last night in your case. Up very early this morning in my case.
You're more than welcome, you're a great teacher, even if you don't hold those credentials.
The bog butter thread was great, just fascinating stuff.
Thank you.
When I read about ancient free food buried all over the place, it makes me wish I lived in Europe. ;’)
Yeah, this whole work thing is really getting on my nerves. ;’)
I’ll only buy into the whistling bullet theory if you can tell me what tune they whistled. Do Dah, Do Dah.
One of these tunes, I’m sure of it.
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/1001719/posts
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/bloggers/1434606/posts
Very convincing. I’m all in now
Illegitimi non Carmen Miranda rights.
ROFL!!
The story of David and Goliath has details which led me to believe that the story was written accurately.
* * *
Sounds interesting! Could you share some of those details? That would be great.
In Photos: 1,800-Year-Old Roman Battle Site
By Tom Metcalfe, Live Science Contributor | June 13, 2016 06:21am ET
https://www.livescience.com/55049-photos-ancient-roman-battle-sling-bullets.html
Pics search:
http://www.google.com/search?q=Burnswark&btnG=Search&sa=X&oi=image_result_group&tbm=isch
once was a leading candidate for the site of the “Dark Age” Battle of Brunanburh (937 AD)
[snip] Burnswark, situated near Lockerbie in southern Scotland: Burnswark is a hill 280 metres (920 ft) tall, and is the site of two Roman military camps and many fortifications from the Iron Age. It was initially suggested as the site of the battle by George Neilson in 1899 and was the leading theory in the early 1900s, having obtained support from historians such as Charles Oman. Kevin Halloran argues that the different forms used by various authors when naming the battle site associate it with a hill and fortifications, since burh (used by the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle poem) means “a fortified place”, and dune (used by Æthelweard and Symeon of Durham, in names such as Brunandune and We(o)ndune) means “a hill”. He also states that the name “Burnswark” could be related to Bruneswerce, another alternative name for the battle site used by Symeon of Durham and Geoffrey Gaimar. [/snip]
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Brunanburh
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