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LOT 0724
Roman Lead Sling Shot Projectile Collection
1ST CENTURY B.C.-2ND CENTURY A.D.
3/4 - 1 3/8 in. (384 grams total, 18-36 mm).
Comprising ten lentoid-section glandes, five with impressed stylised 'fulmen' (thunderbolt) of Jupiter. [13]
ProvenanceAcquired in Europe in 1990.
European private collection.
Cf. Marchant, D.J., Roman weaponry in the province of Britain from the second century to the fifth century AD, Durham, 1991, fig.26, for similar; Schinco, G., Small, A.M., 'A previously unknown siege of Botromagno/Silvium: the evidence of slingshots from Gravina in Puglia (Provincia di Bari, Puglia)' in Papers of the British School at Rome, 2019, pp.1-52, figs.36, 37.
FootnotesThe missiles of ovoid shape belong to type Ia of the Völling classification. The sling (funda) with its lead missiles (plumbea pondera or glandae) and stone (lapides) was used by special funditores, illustrated on Trajan’s Column where they are simply dressed in broad tunics with no armour, but carry a shield. A fold in their cloak, or sagulum, acted as an ammunition bag. The effectiveness of the slingers was unquestionable and much appreciated, especially against elephants. Celsus, writing towards the end of the 2nd century A.D., described how a slingshot wound was more dangerous and harder to treat than one inflicted by an arrow.
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Openwork rectangular panel with hare-and-hound motif, two lateral fixing lugs. 19.2 grams, 60 mm
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Roman Bronze Duck-Headed Ladle
1st-3rd century A.D.Estimate: £500 - 700 (‡+bp*)
Opening Bid: £250
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Roman Mosaic and Other Glass Necklace Bead Group
Circa 1st-4th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £117
Comprising thirty glass beads of various sizes, including mosaic beads and some with drawn decoration. 49 grams total, 7-13 mm
UK gallery, early 2000s.
The mass production of glass in Ancient Rome prompted the development of glass jewellery of unique qualities. The ancient Romans considered jewellery to be an essential accessory, being a public display of the wealth of high social classes. Recent excavations have provided better information on the use of glass beads for necklaces and bracelets, and in some case has been possible to understand the exact arrangement of a necklace or other jewellery made of glass. Many of the examples here presented belongs to the so-called category of ‘eye-beads’.
