Ancient Roman slingshots deadly - and sarcastic

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 the Dumfries region of southwest 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 and resourceful enemy that melted away into the hills and marshes. Less than 20 years after the Roman's attack at Burnswark, they retreated south to Hadrian’s Wall.

The excavations at Burnswark Hill unearthed the largest cache of Roman lead sling bullets ever discovered — part of the huge arsenal of missile ammunition used by the attacking legions to subdue the hilltop fort. Roman lead sling bullets were known in Latin as glandes. (or 'lead acorns') So many sling bullets and other Roman missiles have been found at Burnswark Hill that archaeologists think the raid was staged as a warning to anyone who resisted Roman rule. Researchers estimate that up to 5,000 Roman soldiers took part in the attack, based on the size of two Roman army camps that were built to the north and south of the hilltop fort.

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.