Craig Rullman kicked this my way. Ancient Frontier Partisans warfare:
A bloody assault by Roman legions on a hill fort in Scotland around 1,800 years ago is being pieced together using the remains of Roman missile weapons that were used in the attack.
The excavations at Burnswark Hill, in the Dumfries region of southwest Scotland, have unearthed the largest cache of Roman lead sling bullets yet discovered — part of the huge arsenal of missile ammunition used by the attacking legions to subdue the native defenders of the hilltop fort.
So many sling bullets and other Roman missiles have now been found at Burnswark Hill that archaeologists think the raid was staged as a warning to anyone who resisted Roman rule: an act of “exemplary violence” designed to terrorize the Scottish tribes into submission, the researchers said.
And of course, somebody has a Youtube video:
I don’t know a whole lot about Roman tactics (JMR, there’s your cue) but it seems to me that it would make sense to use the slings for fire and maneuver: sling a whole lot of lead at the foe to keep their heads down while others close in to throw the pilum and start stabbing and hacking.
Bruce Scott says
This is the wrong way to use the Syrian sling. It is slung under hand in a clockwise direction, not overhand in acounterciockwise way.
JimC says
Hey Bruce —
Is there an original source on that? Not doubting you — just curious how we know such things from antiquity.
JimC says
Rabbit hole!
From the Roman Army Website:
The slingers, Funditori, are described as being trained to swing their slings once around their heads and release. The slings depicted here are 61cm (24″) long and would require adequate room when used. ). The ovals illustrate the arc traveled by the sling. To provide the necessary space the Funditori are shown on 2.3m (7.5′) spacing.
Some Funditori may have carried shields, these are shown without shields. Their supply of missiles is shown carried in a fold of their garment.
The sling shot was either lead or clay or small stones. The lead shot recovered averages about 4cm (1.75″) long and weighs about 113 grams (1/4 pound.
Arther Ferrill notes that if the sling were swung underhand through a vertical plane then the spacing between the Funditori could be much closer.
JimC says
JimC says
Now, of course, I want to go out and give this a whirl…
Bruce Scott says
Your diagram is correct. The sling is realeased underhand. It is often rotated twice before release. Check out utube, it shows Syrian soldiers lobbing gernades with the sling. Much more power underhand. The sling is simple to make,try it out sometime.
Paul McNamee says
I read that article. Interesting that the Romans also bored holes in the bullets to make them whistle.
JimC says
A storm of shrieking lead must have been intimidating.
deuce says
Equivalent to the sirens on StuKas:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nZZ504TGDpE
Of course, Celts had various methods of auditory psych-warfare as well.
john roberts says
It is informative to see that Roman bullet-makers put slogans on their bullets, just as modern soldiers write slogans on bombs and missiles. The slogans could be generic: “take this!” Or they could be personal. “Fulvia”, (Mark Antony’s wife), “takes it in the ass!” I swear this has been found on a sling bullet.
The illustration shows a legionary who has reinforced his helmet with a woven wicker cap to protect it from sling bullets. The Spanish soldier Bernal Diaz, who has left us with our best soldier’s view of the conquest of Mexico says that the most effective weapon the Indians had was the sling. Spanish armor was proof against their other weapons, but the sling could find the weak points and forced them to keep their helmets and body armor on even while they slept, which was debilitating.
JimC says
Knew we could count on you for useful insights.