Leaden sling-bullets were widely used in the ancient world.
 | For a given mass, lead, being relatively heavy offers the minimum size and minimum air resistance. In addition, leaden sling-bullets are difficult to see in flight and avoid. Worse, the projectiles had messages ... "Take This", "Here's a Sugar Plum For You", "This is a Hard Nut to Crack." |  |
 | On a fortified hill called Burnswark in Scotland some 1,900 years ago a Roman army attacked local warriors by hurling lead bullets from slings that had nearly the stopping power of a modern .44 magnum handgun, according to experts. The assault must have been deadly, but Burnswark was just the opening salvo in a war against the tribes living north of Hadrian’s Wall. Despite their superior weaponry, Roman soldiers fought a tough, resourceful enemy capable of melting away into the hills and marshes. Less than two decades after the Romans attacked Burnswark, they retreated south to Hadrian’s Wall. |
Roman soldiers armed with slings used lead bullets to mow down foes. |  | 
Archaeologists also discovered ballista balls |
Hadrian’s wall | The Romans also employed psychological warfare against the Scots. About 10% of the bullets had holes in them. Researchers cast replicas, and asked an experienced slinger to test them. The bullets with the holes made “a weird banshee-like wail” Isotopic studies of bullets from Burnswark and from other well-dated sites suggests that the bloody battle took place around A.D.140, early in the reign of the Roman emperor Antoninus Pius. |  |
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