Ancient weapons found at Syria settlement ruins

allesennogwat · 01-16-2007, 06:04 PM

Ancient weapons found in ruins in Syria

It was the ancient version of a last stand: Twelve clay bullets lined up and ready to be shot from slings in a desperate attempt to stop fierce invaders who soon would reduce much of the city to rubble.

The discovery was made in the ruins of Hamoukar, an ancient settlement in northeastern Syria located just miles from the border with Iraq.

Thought to be one of the world's earliest cities and located in northern Mesopotamia between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, it is the site of joint excavations by the University of Chicago and the Syrian Department of Antiquities.

Excavations have been going on at the site since 1999, but in digs conducted this past fall, researchers uncovered new evidence of the city's end and more clues about how urban life there may have begun. The University of Chicago was to announce the findings Tuesday.

The site is so close to Iraq that Clemens Reichel, the American co-director of the expedition, has seen explosions on the other side of the border.

"It's somewhat surreal. We're not living in a vacuum there. We know exactly what's happening across the border," Reichel said. "But working in Syria is like working in the eye of the storm. It's very peaceful to work there. Practically no problems."

The site was anything but peaceful in approximately 3,500 B.C. The archaeologists have previously detailed how they believe Hamoukar's independence was ended by a battle that caused its buildings and walls to collapse and burn.

This past fall, the team found more traces of that battle. For example, there was a shallow pit containing a water basin normally used to soften clay sealings for reuse. The clay sealings were used on bags, jars and baskets to help ensure that the valuables or food inside had not been tampered with.

But along this basin, the researchers found neatly lined up along its edge 12 "sling bullets," oval-shaped weapons made of clay that were fired using slings. More than 1,000 of the bullets were found in debris of collapsed walls in 2005.

Reichel theorizes someone who usually worked with the clay sealings was trying to contribute to the war effort and fashioned bullets from the clay instead.

"You imagine the despair the people were in. They were using everything they could to throw back at the attacker," he said. "It looks like a desperate last attempt."

But the roof collapsed before the bullets could be used, and the researchers believe they were the first to see the scene since that fateful day.

"It's the content of 5,500 years ago no one has seen. There's an element of eeriness — almost a sacred element — when you do this," said Reichel, a research associate at the university's Oriental Institute.

As for the identity of the invaders, the researchers point to debris that indicates if members of the Uruk culture of southern Mesopotamia weren't the ones attacking, they certainly swooped in immediately afterward and took over the city. Either way, they were probably on a quest for the region's raw materials.

Elsewhere at the site, archaeologists believe they've found clues to why urban life began at Hamoukar.

A massive area, the size of a golf course, is scattered with thousands of pieces of obsidian, a type of rock used to produce tools and weapons. It also contains debris that "tells us that they are not just using these tools here, they are making them here," Salam al-Kuntar, the Syrian co-director of the expedition, said in a statement.

Using pottery fragments for dating purposes, the researchers theorize the area could have been a place where obsidian tools were produced hundreds of years before the ferocious battle.

The discovery could also help explain how civilizations developed in different regions of the Fertile Crescent, Reichel said.

It is accepted that in the south, urban society developed in response to the need for organized labor to support the irrigation-based agriculture. The findings from Hamoukar — which was on a key trade route linking modern-day Turkey to southern Mesopotamia — suggest that civilization could have developed there to tap into the market for mass-produced goods (such as obsidian tools).

Guillermo Algaze, a professor of anthropology at the University of California at San Diego, has researched Mesopotamian archaeology and early civilizations. He follows the findings at Hamoukar, but did not participate in the dig.

He said the existence of Hamoukar and the nearby Syrian city of Tell Brak prove that early development of Mesopotamia occurred independently in the north and south, which is contrary to traditional scholastic belief. Previously, civilization in the north of the region was thought to have developed under the influence of urban areas in the south.

Still, the outcome of the battle at Hamoukar in 3,500 B.C. helped change the trajectory of the region, with southern Mesopotamia becoming the dominant force, home to ancient kingdoms such as Babylonia.

Viragos · 01-16-2007, 10:02 PM

If they dig a little further, I'm sure they will find an obsidian AK for those bullets.

Seriously though, you should try a sling some time. I became profiecient with one many years ago and could take out beer bottles at 40 yards. A sling is really neat and works very well.

Take a square patch of cloth (thin leather is better) approximately 3"X5" and tie two strings 24"long to it. Just bunch up the long corners of the patch. You take one string and loop it around your pinky and the other string you hold between your thumb and forefinger. One backward swoop of the sling and you let go of the thumb/forefinger string and the projectile is on it's way. Takes 5 minutes to make one and the results are surprising.

CAMPYBOB · 01-17-2007, 06:08 AM

picture of the ammunition:

Accurizer · 01-17-2007, 07:30 AM

One backward swoop of the sling and you let go of the thumb/forefinger string and the projectile is on it's way. Takes 5 minutes to make one and the results are surprising.

NO SHIT!!!!!

--Goliath

the eXiLe · 01-17-2007, 08:00 AM

CAMPYBOB · 01-17-2007, 08:03 AM

"never bring a sling to a bronze-age sword fight!"

goliath

"it's a long fall when you're tall."

david

the eXiLe · 01-17-2007, 08:06 AM

Take that you bounder!

the eXiLe · 01-17-2007, 08:11 AM

tedbo · 01-17-2007, 03:52 PM

I wonder if they had a 5 day waiting period?

01-16-2007, 06:04 PM	#1
allesennogwat Curio & Relic AKaholic #: 3738 Join Date: Apr 2005 Posts: 32,452	Ancient weapons found at Syria settlement ruins Ancient weapons found in ruins in Syria It was the ancient version of a last stand: Twelve clay bullets lined up and ready to be shot from slings in a desperate attempt to stop fierce invaders who soon would reduce much of the city to rubble. The discovery was made in the ruins of Hamoukar, an ancient settlement in northeastern Syria located just miles from the border with Iraq. Thought to be one of the world's earliest cities and located in northern Mesopotamia between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, it is the site of joint excavations by the University of Chicago and the Syrian Department of Antiquities. Excavations have been going on at the site since 1999, but in digs conducted this past fall, researchers uncovered new evidence of the city's end and more clues about how urban life there may have begun. The University of Chicago was to announce the findings Tuesday. The site is so close to Iraq that Clemens Reichel, the American co-director of the expedition, has seen explosions on the other side of the border. "It's somewhat surreal. We're not living in a vacuum there. We know exactly what's happening across the border," Reichel said. "But working in Syria is like working in the eye of the storm. It's very peaceful to work there. Practically no problems." The site was anything but peaceful in approximately 3,500 B.C. The archaeologists have previously detailed how they believe Hamoukar's independence was ended by a battle that caused its buildings and walls to collapse and burn. This past fall, the team found more traces of that battle. For example, there was a shallow pit containing a water basin normally used to soften clay sealings for reuse. The clay sealings were used on bags, jars and baskets to help ensure that the valuables or food inside had not been tampered with. But along this basin, the researchers found neatly lined up along its edge 12 "sling bullets," oval-shaped weapons made of clay that were fired using slings. More than 1,000 of the bullets were found in debris of collapsed walls in 2005. Reichel theorizes someone who usually worked with the clay sealings was trying to contribute to the war effort and fashioned bullets from the clay instead. "You imagine the despair the people were in. They were using everything they could to throw back at the attacker," he said. "It looks like a desperate last attempt." But the roof collapsed before the bullets could be used, and the researchers believe they were the first to see the scene since that fateful day. "It's the content of 5,500 years ago no one has seen. There's an element of eeriness — almost a sacred element — when you do this," said Reichel, a research associate at the university's Oriental Institute. As for the identity of the invaders, the researchers point to debris that indicates if members of the Uruk culture of southern Mesopotamia weren't the ones attacking, they certainly swooped in immediately afterward and took over the city. Either way, they were probably on a quest for the region's raw materials. Elsewhere at the site, archaeologists believe they've found clues to why urban life began at Hamoukar. A massive area, the size of a golf course, is scattered with thousands of pieces of obsidian, a type of rock used to produce tools and weapons. It also contains debris that "tells us that they are not just using these tools here, they are making them here," Salam al-Kuntar, the Syrian co-director of the expedition, said in a statement. Using pottery fragments for dating purposes, the researchers theorize the area could have been a place where obsidian tools were produced hundreds of years before the ferocious battle. The discovery could also help explain how civilizations developed in different regions of the Fertile Crescent, Reichel said. It is accepted that in the south, urban society developed in response to the need for organized labor to support the irrigation-based agriculture. The findings from Hamoukar — which was on a key trade route linking modern-day Turkey to southern Mesopotamia — suggest that civilization could have developed there to tap into the market for mass-produced goods (such as obsidian tools). Guillermo Algaze, a professor of anthropology at the University of California at San Diego, has researched Mesopotamian archaeology and early civilizations. He follows the findings at Hamoukar, but did not participate in the dig. He said the existence of Hamoukar and the nearby Syrian city of Tell Brak prove that early development of Mesopotamia occurred independently in the north and south, which is contrary to traditional scholastic belief. Previously, civilization in the north of the region was thought to have developed under the influence of urban areas in the south. Still, the outcome of the battle at Hamoukar in 3,500 B.C. helped change the trajectory of the region, with southern Mesopotamia becoming the dominant force, home to ancient kingdoms such as Babylonia. __________________ Daraclor: A brand of anti-malaria pills which we had to drink every week while on the border. Legend had it that these would make you turn yellow and that you wouldn't be able to tan.

01-16-2007, 10:02 PM	#2
Viragos Senior Member Contributor AKaholic #: 3684 Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: Northern Arizona Posts: 686	If they dig a little further, I'm sure they will find an obsidian AK for those bullets. Seriously though, you should try a sling some time. I became profiecient with one many years ago and could take out beer bottles at 40 yards. A sling is really neat and works very well. Take a square patch of cloth (thin leather is better) approximately 3"X5" and tie two strings 24"long to it. Just bunch up the long corners of the patch. You take one string and loop it around your pinky and the other string you hold between your thumb and forefinger. One backward swoop of the sling and you let go of the thumb/forefinger string and the projectile is on it's way. Takes 5 minutes to make one and the results are surprising. Last edited by Viragos; 01-16-2007 at 10:08 PM.

01-17-2007, 08:00 AM	#5
the eXiLe Curio & Relic Contributor AKaholic #: 5154 Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Over The Rainbow Posts: 6,925	__________________ I love talking about nothing, it is the only thing I know anything about.

01-17-2007, 08:06 AM	#7
the eXiLe Curio & Relic Contributor AKaholic #: 5154 Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Over The Rainbow Posts: 6,925	Five minutes later and........ Take that you bounder! __________________ I love talking about nothing, it is the only thing I know anything about.

01-17-2007, 08:11 AM	#8
the eXiLe Curio & Relic Contributor AKaholic #: 5154 Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Over The Rainbow Posts: 6,925	__________________ I love talking about nothing, it is the only thing I know anything about.

01-17-2007, 06:08 AM	#3
CAMPYBOB Moderator AKaholic #: 15 Join Date: Sep 2003 Location: minerva, ohio Posts: 3,977	picture of the ammunition:

01-17-2007, 07:30 AM	#4
Accurizer Veteran Member AKaholic #: 5458 Join Date: Feb 2006 Posts: 1,041	One backward swoop of the sling and you let go of the thumb/forefinger string and the projectile is on it's way. Takes 5 minutes to make one and the results are surprising. NO SHIT!!!!! --Goliath

01-17-2007, 08:03 AM	#6
CAMPYBOB Moderator AKaholic #: 15 Join Date: Sep 2003 Location: minerva, ohio Posts: 3,977	"never bring a sling to a bronze-age sword fight!" goliath "it's a long fall when you're tall." david

01-17-2007, 03:52 PM	#9
tedbo Veteran Member AKaholic #: 3825 Join Date: Apr 2005 Posts: 1,361	I wonder if they had a 5 day waiting period? __________________ I VOTED FOR THE CONSTITUTION! I'm on my second cat! Never post when you're toast! (you know who you are.)

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