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LOT 1586
Mesopotamian Bronze Javelin Head
3RD-2ND MILLENNIUM B.C.
15 1/8 in. (204 grams, 38.5 cm).
With a foliate blade, rhomboidal in section, raised mid-rib, medium-length stem widening at its base and forming a small stop, rectangular-section tang with bent terminal.
ProvenanceEx Abelita family collection, 1980s-2000s.
LiteratureCf. Gorelik, M., Weapons of Ancient East, IV millennium BC-IV century BC, Saint Petersburg, 2003, in Russian, see pl.XXXIII, no.82, from Tepe Hissar; Gernez, G., L’armament en métal au Proche et Moyen-Orient: des origines a 1750 av. J.C., Paris, 2007, p.301, fig.2.88, subtype L2.B.b.
FootnotesThe specimen belongs to the category of tripartite spears with a long, pointed biconvex blade and a single bevelled tang. They seem to be a Mesopotamian and Susian (Elamite) variant, and this type also includes decorated blades, like the spear from Tello with the inscription 'King of Kish'.
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Apart from the use of siphons or manual flame-throwers called cheirosiphona, special corps of Roman soldiers employed terracotta grenades, in the form of small jars, abundantly evidenced in archaeological excavations. They were called μεσαία kακαβιά or κυτροκακάβια, where the former had a bulbous shape and the latter a more cylindrical form. -
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