Editing Sling (weapon) (section)

== The sling in antiquity ==

=== Origins ===
The sling is an ancient weapon known to [[Neolithic]] peoples around the [[Mediterranean]], but is likely to be much older. It is possible that the sling was invented during the [[Upper Palaeolithic]] at a time when new technologies such as the [[spear-thrower]] and the [[bow and arrow]] were beginning to emerge.{{citation needed|date=December 2024}}

=== Archaeology ===
[[File:Slingers on Trajan's Column.JPG|thumb|left|Slingers on Trajan's Column.]]
Whereas stones and clay objects thought by many archaeologists to be sling-bullets are common finds in the archaeological record,<ref name=":0" /> slings themselves are rare. This is both because a sling's materials are [[biodegradable]] and because slings were lower-status weapons, rarely preserved in a wealthy person's grave.

The oldest-known surviving slings—radiocarbon dated to {{Circa|2500 BC}}—were recovered from South American archaeological sites on the coast of Peru. The oldest-known surviving North American sling—radiocarbon dated to {{Circa|1200 BC}}—was recovered from [[Lovelock Cave]], Nevada.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://braidershand.com/andean-history/ |author=Makiko Tada|title=A History of Sling Braiding in the Andes}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|first1=Robert |first2=Gigi |last1=York |last2=York |title=Slings & Slingstones|publisher=Kent State U. Press|year=2011|pages=76, 96, 122 |isbn=978-1-60635-107-9}}</ref>

The oldest known extant slings from the Old World were found in the tomb of [[Tutankhamun]], who died {{Circa|1325 BC}}. A pair of finely plaited slings were found with other weapons. The sling was probably intended for the departed [[pharaoh]] to use for hunting [[Game (food)|game]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ashmolean.museum/gri/carter/585y-p1324.html |title=Image of sling from the Tomb of Tutankhamen |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060403131635/https://www.ashmolean.museum/gri/carter/585y-p1324.html |archive-date=2006-04-03 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=Griffith Institute: Carter Archives - p1324|url=http://www.griffith.ox.ac.uk/gri/carter/585y-p1324.html|access-date=2020-10-27|website=www.griffith.ox.ac.uk}}</ref>

Another Egyptian sling was excavated in [[El-Lahun]] in [[Al Fayyum]] [[Egypt]] in 1914 by [[William Matthew Flinders Petrie]], and is now in the [[Petrie Museum of Egyptian Archaeology]]—Petrie dated it to {{Circa|800 BC}}. It was found alongside an iron spearhead. The remains are broken into three sections. Although fragile, the construction is clear: it is made of [[bast fibre]] (almost certainly [[flax]]) twine; the cords are [[braid]]ed in a 10-strand elliptical [[sennit]] and the cradle seems to have been woven from the same lengths of twine used to form the cords.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.ucl.ac.uk/museums-static/digitalegypt/textil/other.html|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20061210072846/http://www.petrie.ucl.ac.uk/detail/details/index_no_login.php?objectid=UC6921&accesscheck=%2Fdetail%2Fdetails%2Findex.php|url-status=dead|title=Other uses of textile in ancient Egypt|archivedate=10 December 2006|website=www.ucl.ac.uk}}</ref>

=== Ancient representations ===
Representations of slingers can be found on artifacts from all over the ancient world, including [[Assyria]]n and [[History of Egypt|Egyptian]] reliefs, the columns of [[Trajans column|Trajan]]<ref>{{cite book |author=William Smith, LLD. William Wayte. G. E. Marindin |title=A Dictionary of Greek and Roman Antiquities |publisher=John Murray |location=London |year=1890 |chapter=Image "Soldier with sling. (From the Column of Trajan)" |chapter-url=https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/cgi-bin/image?lookup=1999.04.0063.fig10884}}</ref> and [[Marcus Aurelius]], on coins, and on the [[Bayeux Tapestry]].

The oldest representation of a slinger in art may be from [[Çatalhöyük]], from {{Circa|7,000 BC}}, though it is the only such depiction at the site, despite numerous depictions of archers.<ref name="OldestSlinger">{{Cite web|url=http://slinging.org/wiki2/index.php/Main/UpperPaleolithicNeolithic|title=Project Goliath &#124; Main / UpperPaleolithicNeolithic|website=slinging.org}}</ref>

=== Written history ===
[[File:Sling bullets BM GR1842.7-28.550 GR1851.5-7.11.jpg|thumb|right|[[Ancient Greece|Ancient Greek]] lead sling bullets with a winged thunderbolt moulded on one side and the inscription "ΔΕΞΑΙ" (''Dexai'') meaning 'take that' or 'catch' on the other side, 4th century BCE, from [[Athens]], [[British Museum]].<ref name = dexai>{{cite web
 | url = https://www.britishmuseum.org/research/search_the_collection_database/search_object_details.aspx?objectid=399876&partid=1&output=Terms%2F!!%2FOR%2F!!%2F1204%2F!%2F%2F!%2FClassical+Greek%2F!%2F%2F!!%2F%2F!!!%2F&orig=%2Fresearch%2Fsearch_the_collection_database%2Fadvanced_search.aspx&currentPage=7&numpages=10 | title = Lead sling bullet; almond shape; a winged thunderbolt on one side and on the other, in high relief, the inscription DEXAI "Catch!"
 | access-date = 30 April 2012 }}</ref>]]

Many European, Middle Eastern, Asian, and African peoples were users of slings.<ref name=Kend/> [[Thucydides]] and others authors talk about its usage by [[Ancient Greece|Greeks]] and [[Ancient Rome|Romans]], and [[Strabo]] also extends it to the [[Iberians]], [[Lusitanians]] and even some [[Gauls]] (which [[Julius Caesar|Caesar]] describes further in his account of the siege of [[Bibrax]]). He also mentions [[Ancient Persia|Persians]] and [[Ancient Arabia|Arabs]] among those who used them. For his part, [[Diodorus]] includes [[Ancient Libya|Libyans]] and [[Phoenicians]].<ref name=Kend>{{cite book|last=Pritchett|first=W. Kendrick|title=The Greek State at War: Part V|date=1974|publisher=University of California Press|isbn=9780520073746}}</ref> [[Celtic Britons|Britons]] were frequent users of slings too.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Swan |first=David |date=2014 |url=https://warwick.ac.uk/fac/cross_fac/iatl/reinvention/archive/volume7issue2/swan/ |title=Attitudes Towards and Use of the Sling in Late Iron Age Britain |journal=Reinvention: An International Journal of Undergraduate Research |volume=7 |issue=2 |access-date=31 December 2020 |archive-date=5 November 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221105170513/https://warwick.ac.uk/fac/cross_fac/iatl/reinvention/archive/volume7issue2/swan/ |url-status=dead }}</ref>

[[Livy]] mentions some of the most famous of ancient sling experts: the people of the [[Balearic Islands]], who often worked as [[Mercenaries of the ancient Iberian Peninsula|mercenaries]]. Of [[Balearic slinger]]s Strabo writes: "And their training in the use of slings used to be such, from childhood up, that they would not so much as give bread to their children unless they first hit it with the sling."<ref>{{cite web|url=https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Strabo/3E*.html |title=LacusCurtius • Strabo's Geography — Book III Chapter 5 |publisher=Penelope.uchicago.edu |access-date=2010-09-12}}</ref>

==== Classical accounts ====
The sling is mentioned as early as in the writings of [[Homer]],<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.gutenberg.org/files/16452/16452-h/16452-h.htm |title=The Iliad of Homer, translated by Cowper |publisher=Gutenberg.org |date=2005-08-05 |access-date=2010-09-12}}</ref> where several characters kill enemies by hurling stones at them.<ref name=Kend/>

[[Balearic slinger]]s were amongst the specialist mercenaries extensively employed by [[Carthaginian Army|Carthage]] against the Romans and other enemies. These light troops used three sizes of sling, according to the distance of their opponents. The weapons were made of vegetable fibre and animal sinew, launching either stones or lead missiles with devastating impact.<ref>{{cite book|first=Andre|last=Salimbeti|page=41|title=The Carthaginians|date=22 April 2014|publisher=Bloomsbury USA |isbn=978-1-78200-776-0}}</ref>

[[Xenophon]] in his history of the retreat of the [[Ten Thousand (Greek)|Ten Thousand]], 401 BC, relates that the Greeks suffered severely from the slingers in the army of [[Artaxerxes II of Persia]], while they themselves had neither cavalry nor slingers, and were unable to reach the enemy with their arrows and javelins. This deficiency was rectified when a company of 200 [[Rhodians]], who understood the use of leaden sling-bullets, was formed. They were able, says [[Xenophon]], to project their missiles twice as far as the [[Achaemenid Empire|Persian]] slingers, who used large stones.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.gutenberg.org/dirs/etext98/anbss10.txt |title=Xenophon, Anabasis, chapter III |publisher=Gutenberg.org |date=1998-01-01 |access-date=2010-09-12}}</ref>

Various Greeks enjoyed a reputation for skill with the sling. [[Thucydides]] mentions the [[Acarnanians]] and [[Livy]] refers to the inhabitants of three Greek cities on the northern coast of the [[Peloponnesus]] as expert slingers.

Greek armies would also use [[Cavalry|mounted]] slingers (ἀκροβολισταί).<ref>Thomas Dudley Fosbroke, ''A Treatise on the Arts, Manufactures, Manners, and Institutions of the Greek and Romans, Volumen 2'', 1835</ref>

[[Ancient Rome|Roman]] skirmishers armed with slings and javelins were established by [[Servius Tullius]].<ref name=Kend/><ref>{{cite web| url = http://lukeuedasarson.com/TullianDBM.html| title = DBM - Tullian Roman}}</ref> The late Roman writer [[Vegetius]], in his work ''[[De Re Militari]]'', wrote:

{{blockquote|Recruits are to be taught the art of throwing stones both with the hand and sling. The inhabitants of the Balearic Islands are said to have been the inventors of slings, and to have managed them with surprising dexterity, owing to the manner of bringing up their children. The children were not allowed to have their food by their mothers till they had first struck it with their sling. Soldiers, notwithstanding their defensive armour, are often more annoyed by the round stones from the sling than by all the arrows of the enemy. Stones kill without mangling the body, and the contusion is mortal without loss of blood. It is universally known the ancients employed slingers in all their engagements. There is the greater reason for instructing all troops, without exception, in this exercise, as the sling cannot be reckoned any encumbrance, and often is of the greatest service, especially when they are obliged to engage in stony places, to defend a mountain or an eminence, or to repulse an enemy at the attack of a castle or city.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.pvv.ntnu.no/~madsb/home/war/vegetius/dere03.php#14 |title=Digital &#124; Attic – Warfare: De Re Militari Book I: The Selection and Training of New Levies |publisher=Pvv.ntnu.no |access-date=2010-09-12 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120716222726/http://www.pvv.ntnu.no/~madsb/home/war/vegetius/dere03.php |archive-date=2012-07-16 }}</ref>}}

==== Biblical accounts ====
The sling is mentioned in the [[Bible]], which provides what is believed to be the oldest textual reference to a sling in the [[Book of Judges]], 20:16. This text was thought to have been written {{Circa|6th century BC}},<ref>Knoppers, Gary, "Is There a Future for the Deuteronomistic History?", In Thomas Romer, ''The Future of the Deuteronomistic History'', Leuven University Press, 2000 {{ISBN|978-90-429-0858-1}}, p. 119.</ref> but refers to events several centuries earlier.

The Bible provides a famous slinger account, the battle between [[David]] and [[Goliath]] from the [[Books of Samuel|First Book of Samuel]] 17:34–36, probably written in the 7th or 6th century BC, describing events that might have occurred {{Circa|10th century BC}}. The sling, easily produced, was the weapon of choice for shepherds fending off animals. Due to this, the sling was a commonly used weapon by the Israelite militia.<ref>Yigael Yadin, ''The Art of Warfare in Biblical Lands'' (Jerusalem: International Publishing Company, 1963), 34–35</ref> Goliath was a tall, well equipped and experienced warrior. In this account, the shepherd David persuades [[Saul the King|Saul]] to let him fight Goliath on behalf of the Israelites. Unarmoured and equipped only with a sling, five smooth rocks, and his staff, David defeats the champion Goliath with a well-aimed shot to the head, followed by a decapitation with Goliath's own sword.

Use of the sling is also mentioned in Second Kings 3:25, First Chronicles 12:2, and Second Chronicles 26:14 to further illustrate Israelite use.

=== Combat ===
[[File:Balearic Slinger.jpg|thumb|right|upright|Artistic depiction of a slinger from the [[Balearic Islands]], famous for the skill of its slingers]]
Ancient peoples used the sling in combat—armies included both specialist slingers and regular soldiers equipped with slings. As a [[weapon]], the sling had several advantages; a sling bullet lobbed in a high trajectory can achieve ranges in excess of {{convert|400|m|abbr=on}}.<ref>{{cite journal |author=Harrison, Chris |title=The Sling in Medieval Europe |journal=The Bulletin of Primitive Technology |volume=31 |date=Spring 2006 |url=http://chrisharrison.net/index.php/Research/Sling}}</ref> Modern authorities vary widely in their estimates of the effective range of ancient weapons. A bow and arrow could also have been used to produce a long range arcing trajectory, but ancient writers repeatedly stress the sling's advantage of range. The sling was light to carry and cheap to produce; ammunition in the form of stones was readily available and often to be found near the site of battle. The ranges the sling could achieve with moulded lead [[#Ammunition|sling-bullets]] was surpassed only by the strong [[composite bow]].

Caches of sling ammunition have been found at the sites of [[Iron Age]] [[hill forts]] of [[Europe]]; some 22,000 sling stones were found at [[Maiden Castle, Dorset]].<ref name=Cunliffe133>{{cite book |last=Cunliffe |first=Barry |date= 2005|title=Iron Age Communities in Britain: An Account of England, Scotland and Wales from the Seventh Century BC until the Roman Conquest |edition=4th|publisher=Routledge |page=136 |isbn=978-0-415-56292-8}}</ref> It is proposed that Iron Age hill forts of Europe were designed to maximize the effective defence by slingers.

The hilltop location of the wooden forts would have given the defending slingers the advantage of range over the attackers, and multiple concentric [[Rampart (fortification)|ramparts]], each higher than the other, would allow a large number of men to create a hailstorm of stone. Consistent with this, it has been noted that defences are generally narrow where the natural slope is steep, and wider where the slope is more gradual.

=== Construction ===
A classic sling is braided from non-elastic material. The traditional materials are [[flax]], [[hemp]] or [[wool]]. Slings by Balearic islanders were said to be made from a [[Juncaceae|rush]]. Flax and hemp resist rotting, but wool is softer and more comfortable. [[Polyester]] is often used for modern slings, because it does not rot or stretch and is soft and free of splinters.

Braided cords are used in preference to twisted rope, as a braid resists twisting when stretched. This improves accuracy.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Cahlander|first1=Adele|title=Sling Braiding of the Andes (Weaver's Journal Monograph IV)|date=1980|publisher=Dos Tejadores|location=St. Paul, MN|isbn=978-0937452035|ref=SBrAndes}}</ref>

The overall length of a sling can vary. A slinger may have slings of different lengths. A longer sling is used when greater range is required. A length of about {{convert|61|to|100|cm|ft|abbr=on|sigfig=2}} is typical.

At the centre of the sling, a cradle or pouch is constructed. This may be formed by making a wide braid from the same material as the cords or by inserting a piece of a different material such as [[leather]]. The cradle is typically diamond shaped (although some take the form of a net), and will fold around the projectile in use. Some cradles have a hole or slit that allows the material to wrap around the projectile slightly, thereby holding it more securely.

At the end of one cord (called the retention cord) a finger-loop is formed. At the end of the other cord (the release cord), it is a common practice to form a knot or a tab. The release cord will be held between finger and thumb to be released at just the right moment, and may have a complex braid to add bulk to the end. This makes the knot easier to hold, and the extra weight allows the loose end of a discharged sling to be recovered with a flick of the wrist.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=tko5DAAAQBAJ&pg=PT147|last=Ramsey|first=Syed|title=Tools of War: History of Weapons in Medieval Times|page=147|publisher=Alpha Editions|isbn=978-9386101662|year=2016|access-date=2019-07-08}}</ref>

Braided construction resists stretching, and therefore produces an accurate sling. Modern slings are begun by plaiting the cord for the finger loop in the centre of a double-length set of cords. The cords are then folded to form the finger-loop. The retained cord is then plaited away from the loop as a single cord up to the pocket. The pocket is then plaited, most simply as another pair of cords, or with flat braids or a woven net. The remainder of the sling, the released cord, is plaited as a single cord, and then finished with a knot or plaited tab.

=== Impact ===
Ancient poets wrote that sling-bullets could penetrate armour, and that lead projectiles, heated by their passage through the air, would melt in flight.<ref>[[Lucretius]], [http://www.gutenberg.org/dirs/etext97/natng10.txt On the Nature of Things]--
"Just as thou seest how motion will o'erheat /
And set ablaze all objects, - verily /
A leaden ball, hurtling through length of space, /
Even melts."</ref><ref>[[Virgil]], [http://www.gutenberg.org/files/18466/18466.txt The Aeneid], Book 9, Stanza LXXV – "His lance laid by, thrice whirling round his head /
    The whistling thong, Mezentius took his aim. /
    Clean through his temples hissed the molten lead, /
And prostrate in the dust, the gallant youth lay dead."</ref> In the first instance, it seems likely that the authors were indicating that slings could cause injury through armour by a percussive effect (''i.e.'', the energy of a sling-bullet delivered at high velocity causing blunt trauma injury upon impact) rather than by penetration. In the latter case, it has been proposed that they were impressed by the degree of deformation suffered by lead sling-bullet after hitting a hard target.<ref>{{cite book
 | last      = Pritchett
 | year      = 1992
 | first     = W. Kendrick
 | title     = The Greek State at War: Part V
 | publisher = University of California Press
 | isbn      = 978-0-520-07374-6
 | pages        = 24–25, footnote 44
}}</ref>

According to description of [[Procopius]], the sling had an effective range further than a [[Hun]] bow and arrow. In his book ''[[Wars of Justinian]]'', he recorded the felling of a Hun warrior by a slinger:

{{blockquote|Now one of the Huns who was fighting before the others was making more trouble for the Romans than all the rest. And some rustic made a good shot and hit him on the right knee with a sling, and he immediately fell headlong from his horse to the ground, which thing heartened the Romans still more.<ref>Procopius, Persian war</ref>}}

=== Ammunition ===
[[File:Sling bullets clay and stone.JPG|thumb|right|Sling-bullets of baked clay and stone found at [[Ham Hill Hillfort|Ham Hill]] [[Iron Age]] [[hill fort]].]]

The simplest projectile was a stone, preferably well-rounded. Suitable ammunition is frequently from a river or a beach. The size of the projectiles can vary dramatically, from pebbles massing no more than {{convert|50|g|abbr=on}} to fist-sized stones massing {{convert|500|g|abbr=on}} or more. The use of such stones as projectiles is well attested in the ethnographic record.<ref name=":0">{{Cite book|last=Seager Thomas|first=Mike|url=http://archive.org/details/asrp2reassessingslingstones|title=Reassessing Slingstones. Artefact Services Research Papers 3|publisher=Artefact Services|year=2013|location=Lewes|pages=}}</ref>

Possible projectiles were also purpose-made from [[clay]]; this allowed a very high consistency of size and shape to aid range and accuracy. Many examples have been found in the archaeological record.

The best ammunition was [[Casting (metalworking)|cast]] from [[lead]]. Leaden sling-bullets were widely used in the Greek and Roman world. For a given mass, lead, being very dense, offers the minimum size and therefore minimum air resistance. In addition, leaden sling-bullets are small and difficult to see in flight; their concentrated impact is also a better armour-piercer and better able to penetrate a body.

In some cases, the lead would be cast in a simple open mould made by pushing a finger or thumb into sand and pouring molten metal into the hole. However, sling-bullets were more frequently cast in two-part moulds. Such sling-bullets come in a number of shapes including an [[ellipsoid]]al form closely resembling an acorn; this could be the origin of the Latin word for a leaden sling-bullet: ''glandes plumbeae'' (literally 'leaden acorns') or simply ''glandes'' (meaning 'acorns', singular ''glans'').

Other shapes include spherical and (by far the most common) biconical, which resembles the shape of the shell of an [[almond]] nut or a flattened [[American football]].

The ancients do not seem to have taken advantage of the manufacturing process to produce consistent results; leaden sling-bullets vary significantly. The reason why the almond shape was favoured is not clear: it is possible that there is some aerodynamic advantage, but it seems equally likely that there is some more prosaic reason, such as the shape being easy to extract from a mould, or the fact that it will rest in a sling cradle with little danger of rolling out. It is possible as well that the almond, non-circular shape made the bullet spin in flight in a helicopter or disc like effect adding to the flight distance.

Almond-shaped leaden sling-bullets were typically {{convert|35|mm|abbr=on}} long, {{convert|20|mm|abbr=on}} wide, and weighs {{convert|28|g|abbr=on}}. Very often, symbols or writings were moulded into lead sling-bullets. Many examples have been found including a collection of about 80 sling-bullets from the [[Perusine War|siege of Perusia]] in [[Etruria]] from 41 BC, to be found in the museum of modern [[Perugia]]. Examples of symbols include a stylized lightning bolt, a snake, and a scorpion – reminders of how a sling might strike without warning. Writing might include the name of the owning military unit or commander or might be more imaginative: "Take this", "Ouch", "get pregnant with this"<ref>{{cite book|first=Nic|last=Fields|page=35|title=Syracuse 415-413 BC|date=20 May 2008|publisher=Bloomsbury USA |isbn=978-1-84603-258-5}}</ref> and even "For [[Pompey]]'s backside" added insult to injury, whereas ''dexai'' ('take this' or 'catch!')<ref name = dexai /> is merely sarcastic. In [[Yavne]], a sling bullet with the Greek inscription "Victory of Heracles and Hauronas" was discovered, the two gods were the patrons of the city during the [[Hellenistic period]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.i24news.tv/en/news/israel/archeology/1670513696-2-200-year-old-sling-bullet-discovered-in-israel|title=i24NEWS|website=www.i24news.tv|date=8 December 2022 }}</ref>

[[Julius Caesar]] writes in ''[[De bello Gallico]]'', book 5, about clay shot being heated before slinging, so that it might set fire to thatch.<ref>Caesar Bell. Gall. 5,43,1.</ref>

==== "Whistling" bullets ====
Some bullets have been found with holes drilled in them. It was thought the holes were to contain poison. John Reid of the [[Trimontium (Newstead)|Trimontium]] Trust, finding holed Roman bullets excavated at the Burnswark [[Hillforts in Scotland|hillfort]], has proposed that the holes would cause the bullets to "whistle" in flight and the sound would intimidate opponents. The holed bullets were generally small and thus not particularly dangerous. Several could fit into a pouch and a single slinger could produce a terrorizing barrage. Experiments with modern copies demonstrate they produce a whooshing sound in flight.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.archaeology.co.uk/articles/features/burnswark.htm|website=Current Archeology|title=Bullets, ballistas, and Burnswark – A Roman assault on a hillfort in Scotland|date=1 June 2016}}</ref>