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LOT 1514
Romano-British 'Verulanium' Lead Slingshot
2ND CENTURY A.D.
1 3/8 in. (59 grams, 37 mm).
Biconical in profile with reserved 'thunderbolt' motif to two faces; old inked collector's reference '130'. [No Reserve]
ProvenanceFound near St Albans (Verulamium), UK.
From the private collection of Kenneth Machin (1936-2020), Buckinghamshire, UK; his collection of antiquities and natural history was formed since 1948; thence by descent.
This lot is accompanied by an illustrated lot declaration signed by the Head of the Antiquities Department, Dr Raffaele D'Amato.
Cf. Greep, S.J., ‘Lead Sling-Shot from Windridge Farm, St Albans and the Use of the Sling by the Roman Army in Britain’ in Britannia, vol.18. 1987, pp.183-200, fig.2, type 1, fig.7.
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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Cylindrical body with pointed tip and domed mouth; intended to be filled with explosive liquid and a wick, and used as a hand grenade. 820 grams, 14 cm
From an important specialist collection, London, UK, 1990s onwards. 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'. This lot is accompanied by an illustrated lot declaration signed by the Head of the Antiquities Department, Dr Raffaele D'Amato.
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Piriform in profile with domed mouth and stepped neck, raised vertical lugs on the body, stamped rosettes and linear decoration; intended to be filled with explosive liquid and wick, used as a hand grenade. 838 grams, 19.5 cm
From an important specialist collection, London, UK, 1990s onwards. 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'. This lot is accompanied by an illustrated lot declaration signed by the Head of the Antiquities Department, Dr Raffaele D'Amato.
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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The leaden bullets, which were thrown from slings, were called in Greek Molivdainai (μολύβδαιναι), and in Latin glandes; the former indicating the material ‘lead’, the latter the shape ‘acorns’. These bullets, were cast in a mould and bore letters or devices, or both, on two sides or on only one. In form they were more like an almond than an acorn, but many are pointed at both ends; in size, they are generally about one inch and a half in maximum length, and under one inch in maximum width.
