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LOT 1062
Roman Sling Shot Group
1ST-4TH CENTURY A.D.
1 1/8 - 1 3/8 in. (185 grams total, 29-34 mm).
A lentoid-section lead slingshot (glans) specimen group. [4, No Reserve]
ProvenanceFound Roding, Essex, UK.
Acquired on the UK antiques market between 1974-1985.
Albert Ward collection, Essex, UK.
Similar shots were used in the civil war among Pompey and Caesar, and in all of Caesar's wars. The funditores of Caesa's age were part of the light infantry. Caesar speaks of his Balearic slingers during the conquest of Gaul. They wore a short tunic, with leather or rope sandals to the feet, and a warm overcoat which could also have been used to store projectiles. They also used a satchel to carry very deadly lead-like stones or bullets.
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Amlash Type Spearhead
13th-11th century B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £234
A bronze tanged spearhead with heavily ridged and tapered blade with short collared shaft and square section tapered tang of recangular section. 436 grams, 40 cm
Acquired 1980-2015. Ex Abelita family collection.
The weapon belongs to the type 1 of the spearhead classification by Khorasani, mainly from Marlik or Amlash areas. Similar pieces have been dated by Stutzinger to 1200-1100 B.C. -
Babylonian Duck-Billed Axehead
2nd millennium B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £364
A bronze duck-billed axehead with a curved, beak-shaped blade, with two pierced eyes and a raised ridge down the centre. 170 grams, 10 cm
Acquired in the 1990s. Ex Paris Gallery.
This axe corresponds to the type H4B of the Gernez classification. Several of these models, with their moulds, are known from the Levant, like those in Byblos, Ras Shamra, and Tell Arqa. On the other hand, a workshop level II of the Kültepe karum delivered two moulds, showing a local production of arms intended either for export or for the inhabitants originating from Mesopotamia or the Levant. This sub-type of eye-axes is characteristic of the Middle Bronze Age 1 (2050-1750 B.C.). -
Byzantine 'Greek Fire' Fire Bomb or Hand Grenade
9th-11th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £182
A ceramic vessel with a piriform body and domed mouth, two incised rings to the shoulder; intended to be filled with explosive liquid and wick, used as a hand grenade. 470 grams, 10.2 cm
Previously in a private collection since the 1990s. Property of a Sussex, UK, teacher. Accompanied by an academic paper by military specialist Dr Raffaele D'Amato, dated 15 July 2019 and titled 'Eastern Roman Empire - Greek Fire Bomb or Hand Grenade (μεσαίον kακάβιον) 9th-11th century AD'.
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. Such were the γανωτα, vessels (sometimes also of bronze) used for Greek fire. They were called μεσαία kακαβιά or κυτροκακάβια where the former had a bulbous shape and the latter a more cylindrical form.
