Whistling Sling Bullets Were Roman Troops' Secret 'Terror Weapon'

It was a simpler time in many ways except for the dealing out of death. Weapons were short ranged for the most part and you actually looked your enemy in the eye as a dual of death proceeded. Roman weapons and tactics were the best available for hundreds if not a thousand years but these sling weapon bullets (for lack of a better word) are something I was unaware of.

Some 1,800 years ago, Roman troops used "whistling" sling bullets as a "terror weapon" against their barbarian foes, according to archaeologists who found the cast lead bullets at a site in Scotland.

Weighing about 1 ounce (30 grams), each of the bullets had been drilled with a 0.2-inch (5 millimeters) hole that the researchers think was designed to give the soaring bullets a sharp buzzing or whistling noise in flight.

The bullets were found recently at Burnswark Hill in southwestern Scotland, where a massive Roman attack against native defenders in a hilltop fort took place in the second century A.D.

www.livescience.com...

Lots of people in the ancient world used slings; Greeks, Persians, Celts, and so on. It was a common weapon used by shepherds to ward off predators and direct their flock. I wasn't aware of the "whistling" aspect though, very interesting.

Even without a high-pitched whistling sound, slings would have been terrifying. More deadly in many ways than archers. A sling bullet could crush armor, break bones, and even bury itself in flesh.

Cool. Sounds feasible and good tactics. When people are ducking the whizzing of projectiles they are 'pinned down' and can be closed with or flanked.

"Covering fire!!"

a reply to: 727Sky

I'm not so sure about looking them in the eye, at least not every time. There's a hillfort near here that has many stone slingshots lying around, easy to find when the middle of the fort has been ploughed. I think it's likely barrages of stones were slung high up over the defences to rain down on invaders on the steep slopes below.

The smaller quartz pebbles found in many places may have been practice ammunition for children. White, so easily found for re-use. Effectively hunting with slingshots must have taken practice since childhood.

On a related subject,

The height of whistling arrow sophistication occurred during the most prosperous days of the Qing dynasty . . .

www.manchuarchery.org...

You could write a symphony to be played on whistling arrows.

The drilled slingshots, could they have contained wicks for setting light to thatch? Just covering all the bases here.

One point about arrows. A plain arrow makes a 'fffffff' sound as it flies through the air, followed by an 'uck' sound as it hits flesh.

I've only had two threads 404'd here on ATS. One was 'Forget The Olympics, Let's Have A Coup Instead'. The other was 'The True Meaning Of The Word F . . . '

A Qing dynasty bàojiàn for arousing recumbent tigers . . .

In case you needed to know.

Awesome first paragraph.

But I believe the holes were to mount the bullet on something to allow straight propulsion. Because you would be lucky if it made a noise and if it did it would be minimal and not very scary.

a reply to: Kester

Of course. If the whole was not all the way through then would be a perfect place to place a wick or fuel.

originally posted by: Kester
a reply to: 727Sky

I'm not so sure about looking them in the eye, at least not every time. There's a hillfort near here that has many stone slingshots lying around, easy to find when the middle of the fort has been ploughed. I think it's likely barrages of stones were slung high up over the defences to rain down on invaders on the steep slopes below.

The smaller quartz pebbles found in many places may have been practice ammunition for children. White, so easily found for re-use. Effectively hunting with slingshots must have taken practice since childhood.

On a related subject,

The height of whistling arrow sophistication occurred during the most prosperous days of the Qing dynasty . . .

www.manchuarchery.org...

You could write a symphony to be played on whistling arrows.

The drilled slingshots, could they have contained wicks for setting light to thatch? Just covering all the bases here.

One point about arrows. A plain arrow makes a 'fffffff' sound as it flies through the air, followed by an 'uck' sound as it hits flesh.

I've only had two threads 404'd here on ATS. One was 'Forget The Olympics, Let's Have A Coup Instead'. The other was 'The True Meaning Of The Word F . . . '

A Qing dynasty bàojiàn for arousing recumbent tigers . . .

In case you needed to know.

Thanks for the contribution to the thread. I should have said I was unfamiliar with the Romans using whistling sling shot stones but was in a hurry and out the door.

Yes the Chinese had just about every conceivable device one could imagine especially after the Huns took over. It would have been interesting who would have won if China and Rome had gone at each other during their peak of their martial prowess.

a reply to: 727Sky

from your article

"'Don't be stupid; you've no idea what you're talking about. You're not an archaeologist,'" Reid joked. "And he said, 'No, but I'm a fisherman, and when I cast my line with lead weights that have got holes in them like that, they whistle.'"

"Suddenly, a light bulb came on in my head — that's what they're about. They're for making a noise," Reid said."

this is whats wrong with our scientists today, they are so damn arrogant they wont for even a second consider that you might have thought of something better then them, to the scientists this guys idea was absolutely a joke without the premise of a professional background that justified his experience with what he was saying.

"holes in a stone make it whistle" = "your wrong and stupid and an idiot"
"in my profession i learned holes in a stone make it whistle" = "eureka great idea"

something very wrong about that.