David and Goliath

Onesimus

So I have been thinking about this story today. David was 30 years old when he began his ministry ( like Jesus ) and here he confronts Goliath with a sling. This is no cute story, the sling was a deadly weapon. But I was wondering what this sling may have looked like? Has there ever been any historical finding of a sling from that time? I'd like to see one.:)

Quatermain

Judging from historical and archaeological evidence, the sling itself took two main forms. One was a simple strip of cloth or leather in which a stone or pebble was hooked, then spun around to accumulate momentum, before being released. The second, a more advanced model, would have been a strip of leather threaded through a square patch of the same, which held the stone.

The sling was mainly a poor man's weapon, suitable for skirmishers or irregular troops such as Roman auxiliaries. Cloth is easy to find, and stones are everywhere, so ammunition was not an issue. It is easy to understand why one would have been useful to a shepherd, as he has plenty of time to practise his shooting, and it would have been effective against wolves or vermin.

And so David has his sling, continuing the fine tradition of a hero being associated with a trademark weapon, like Gilgamesh with his sickle-knife or Guan Yu with his halberd. It represents his upbringing, and serves as a symbol of the hero himself.

Here is an excellent example of a simple jute sling made by an archaeological experiment group.
http://slinging.org/forum/yabbfiles/Attachments/jute_rockman.jpg

Snappy Smurf

Quatermain wrote: »

Here is an excellent example of a simple jute sling made by an archaeological experiment group.
http://slinging.org/forum/yabbfiles/Attachments/jute_rockman.jpg

How would that work? There is no elastic.

PDN

Snappy Smurf wrote: »

How would that work? There is no elastic.

It's a sling - not a catapult.

You whirl it round your head a few times and then release the rock.

Quatermain

Snappy Smurf wrote: »

How would that work? There is no elastic.

Because it isn't a slingshot. You keep the stone in the sling with your free hand, gripping the ends to make a ring, and then then whirl the sling in a circle to create momentum, the stone being kept in place by centrifugal force. Then you let go of one thread, and the stone is propelled forwards.

You can see on the jute model that one end is bare rope, and the other has a loop. The idea was that you kept the rope end tight in the palm of your throwing hand, and simply hooked a finger into the loop, making it easy to release.

Holding the sling.
http://lh4.ggpht.com/-GrlRL8FWC_4/Ssnsn7f_DKI/AAAAAAAAJXA/lTOTR6hLhfY/IMG_5508.JPG

Sling in use.
http://thelosttreasurechest.files.wordpress.com/2011/05/rhodian-slinger.jpg?w=218

I'm probably banging on for longer than is necessary. Combat archaeology is a great hobby of mine.

philologos

Wasn't David a young boy when he slew Goliath?

Manach

As a classicist I'd point out that the sling was a deadly weapon in expert hands with specialists troops of slingers being employed by the Romans as auxillary troops into the imperial period.

Quatermain

Manach wrote: »

As a classicist I'd point out that the sling was a deadly weapon in expert hands with specialists troops of slingers being employed by the Romans as auxillary troops into the imperial period.

Absolutely correct. They were considered a particular specialty of the people of the Balearic Islands. Vegetius thought that all members of the army should be trained in its use, purely for the sheer utility of the weapon.

*Classicist high-five*.

Also, I couldn't be sure of his age. Is there any evidence?

PDN

philologos wrote: »

Wasn't David a young boy when he slew Goliath?

A youth possibly. He was 30 years old when he became king (2 Samuel 5:4), and that was quite a while after he killed Goliath.

Snappy Smurf

Quatermain wrote: »

Because it isn't a slingshot. You keep the stone in the sling with your free hand, gripping the ends to make a ring, and then then whirl the sling in a circle to create momentum, the stone being kept in place by centrifugal force. Then you let go of one thread, and the stone is propelled forwards.

You can see on the jute model that one end is bare rope, and the other has a loop. The idea was that you kept the rope end tight in the palm of your throwing hand, and simply hooked a finger into the loop, making it easy to release.

Holding the sling.
http://lh4.ggpht.com/-GrlRL8FWC_4/Ssnsn7f_DKI/AAAAAAAAJXA/lTOTR6hLhfY/IMG_5508.JPG

Sling in use.
http://thelosttreasurechest.files.wordpress.com/2011/05/rhodian-slinger.jpg?w=218

I'm probably banging on for longer than is necessary. Combat archaeology is a great hobby of mine.

Pretty small stone. Aiming can't be very accurate? More guesswork I expect.

Quatermain

Snappy Smurf wrote: »

Pretty small stone. Aiming can't be very accurate? More guesswork I expect.

Not really. Something much like this would be common:
http://lukechandler.files.wordpress.com/2010/07/sling_stone_in_hand.jpg

They were meant to harry and break up formations, as well as dealing severe blunt-force trauma. Small or not, a stone moving at sufficient speed can crack a skull or a few ribs. Not to mention marksmanship was emphasised with these weapons, as they had a slightly slower rate of fire than bows, but were more useful at close range because the sling with the stone could also be used as a makeshift flail.

Some stones, or "bullets", were custom-made from clay. These were generally more accurate than stones.

What do you mean by "guesswork"?

Snappy Smurf

Where the stone lands will be an approximation.

Quatermain wrote: »

Not really. Something much like this would be common:
http://lukechandler.files.wordpress.com/2010/07/sling_stone_in_hand.jpg

They were meant to harry and break up formations, as well as dealing severe blunt-force trauma. Small or not, a stone moving at sufficient speed can crack a skull or a few ribs. Not to mention marksmanship was emphasised with these weapons, as they had a slightly slower rate of fire than bows, but were more useful at close range because the sling with the stone could also be used as a makeshift flail.

Some stones, or "bullets", were custom-made from clay. These were generally more accurate than stones.

What do you mean by "guesswork"?

Quatermain

Bowmen and riflemen still need to work out range, wind, and distance themselves before they take the shot, so times have not changed. I've used a sling myself. It takes a little practise, but it's not long before you're plinking tin cans off a wall.

Onesimus

As much as I utterly despise the History channel and it's associates ( discovery, Nat Geo etc etc. Just read the comments you will understand why ) I think this is the best video that shows the sling in action.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ELYea2UDfeY

Bloodwing

Onesimus wrote: »

As much as I utterly despise the History channel and it's associates ( discovery, Nat Geo etc etc. Just read the comments you will understand why ) I think this is the best video that shows the sling in action.

Might I ask why you despise these channels? Is it the comments on YouTube your referring to?

Quatermain

Neilos wrote: »

Might I ask why you despise these channels? Is it the comments on YouTube your referring to?

I think it has something to do with the fact that the commentors on said video made numerous claims to the effect that because David trained with his sling all the time he was a shepherd, he poses more of a threat to human life than smallpox. Which is apparently desirable.

I think it has something to do with people attempting to elevate David to the level of more "mainstream" heroes like Leonidas or El Cid.

So, yes. Comments, I would guess.