The names of the gods Heracles and Hauronas on the reverse side of the sling bullet.Dafna Gazit, Israel Antiquities Authority
Posted on 12/16/2022 9:22:37 PM PST by SunkenCiv
'The inscriptions were part of psychological warfare... to terrorize the opponent and unite the warriors'
A 2,200-year-old lead sling bullet was recently discovered by the Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA) in the central Israeli city of Yavne, bearing a magic inscription for victory and which possibly belonged to a Greek soldier.
On the bullet is the Greek inscription "Victory of Heracles and Hauronas" – a pair of gods that were considered to be the "divine patrons of Yavne during the Hellenistic period," according to Prof. Yulia Ustinova from southern Israel’s Ben Gurion University of the Negev.
"Actually, the inscription on a sling bullet is the first archaeological evidence of the two guardians of Yavne, discovered inside Yavne itself. Until today, the pair was only known from an inscription on the Greek island of Delos," the professor added.
The bullet was uncovered in excavations conducted by the IAA in Yavne as part of the Israel Lands Authority's initiative to expand the city, in cooperation with the Yavne Municipality. It is 4.4 centimeters long and was intended to be used in an early sling.
As a couple, the gods Heracles and Hauron were a perfect team of victory-givers...
The Yavne “mega” excavation was one of the largest conducted by the IAA and has yielded fascinating discoveries that testify to a rich and varied history of 7,000 years.
"One can only imagine what that warrior who held the sling bullet 2,200 years ago thought and felt, as he held on to the hope of divine salvation," said IAA Director Eli Escusido.
The story of the bullet will be presented at the ‘Yavne and its Secrets’ lecture next week in Yavne.
(Excerpt) Read more at i24news.tv ...
The names of the gods Heracles and Hauronas on the reverse side of the sling bullet.Dafna Gazit, Israel Antiquities Authority
It seems every sling bullet from antiquity is bioconicsl or almond-shaped. When a sling bullet is traveling through the air, does it spin about the long axis, like an American football? Or does roll around the long axis? Or...how does it travel through the air?
They’re shaped to reduce drag, and made of heavy material like lead so they really drill through the air and deliver max energy to the target.
i wonder if their government limited them to just 7-10 sling bullets per person? (Like ours does for magazines- )
And after Goliaths mother wept.
She founded M.A.D.S.
‘Mothers Against Deadly Slings’
Well this particular one appears to have been shot from Greece all the way to Israel!
‘Heracles’ aka Hdrcules in Rome, was noot ‘a god’, but a ‘demigod’, son of Zeus and a mortal woman.
yes, i wonder how many sling rocks wers allowed per pouches, too?
I have a bit of experience slinging. My thought is that the shape allows for the projectile to leave the sling pocket in a fairly repeatable orientation thus eliminating one of the many variables that affect accuracy. Achieving accuracy when throwing, slinging, shooting, hurling, tossing, or chucking is a matter of practice and eliminating variables, i.e. grip, distance, sight alignment, breathing, consistent projectile weight, shape, powder charge, warhead weight, number of windups, etc. Quarterbacks throw the football only one way so the toss is predictable. Pitchers throw unpredictably with myriad variables to confuse.
Check out this guy slinging:
https://youtu.be/RzDMCVdPwnE
Oh a two way boat tail!! ;-)
Interesting article - thanks!
Interesting video ... pasty-skinned dude needs to spend some time in the sun.
Of course accuracy would improve with practice but I would hope that the slingers had a backup weapon like a sword because unless you were very close, it would very likely only stun a target. You or someone with you would need to take that moment to incapacitate the target.
When I was young I played with slingshots, both the ‘Y’ shape and the kind in the video. I learned the bible story of David and Goliath and was surprised that David slew Goliath with the rock and sling. It was not until I was older that I learned that David terminated Goliath by removing the head, not because of the sling shot.
“ 49 And David put his hand in his bag, and took thence a stone, and slang it, and smote the Philistine in his forehead, that the stone sunk into his forehead; and he fell upon his face to the earth.
50 So David prevailed over the Philistine with a sling and with a stone, and smote the Philistine, and slew him; but there was no sword in the hand of David.”
Sounds pretty straightforward to me that the stone penetrated Goliath’s forehead into his brain. David took the head as a trophy.
That’s a Persian soldier.
That was a fantastic video! You can make a sling from tree bark and other plants in a day with knowledge in finding, plaiting, and knotting their fibers. The slinger never used the almond-bullet (that I could see) and just whatever spheroid stone was at hand. He was aiming for an approximately 12”x12” target through most of the video. He rarely hit but came close a lot. Were he slinging rocks at a formed body or large animal, he’d hit most every time. I imagine professional/cultural slingers from antiquity with their formed bullets and constant practice could hit the small targets enough to have rabbit or squirrel stew whenever they liked!
And after Goliaths mother wept.
She founded M.A.D.S.
‘Mothers Against Deadly Slings’
*******
Lol
Well done.
Love that website. Watched all the ones on building hut and tools.
You should check out his other videos. He builds a heated tile roof house starting with nothing but a stick and rock.
https://www.youtube.com/@primitivetechnology9550
Was CornPop on the receiving end of that sling bullet?
Tune in to the next White House press conference to learn MORE!
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