the Byzantine era<\/a>. The city was known as Susita during the Hellenistic period, which lasted from 323 B.C. to about 31 B.C.<\/p>\nThe projectile, which officials date to the second century B.C., was carved with the Greek word \u201cLearn,\u201d according to a press release obtained by Fox News Digital.<\/p>\n
A picture of the ancient, oval-shaped lead sling bullet shows faint traces of the Greek script.<\/p>\n
Michael Eisenberg, a University of Haifa archaeologist who recently published his findings in the journal PEQ along with colleague Arleta Kowalewska, believes the phrase was a \u201csarcastic\u201d taunt, he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cAt Hippos alone, 69 such projectiles have been identified so far, but this is the first in the world to bear the inscription \u2018Learn,’\u201d Eisenberg said, per the March release.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis represents local sarcastic humor on the part of the city\u2019s defenders, who wished to teach their enemies a lesson with a wink: \u2018Learn your lesson!\u2019\u201d<\/p>\nA picture of the ancient, oval-shaped lead sling bullet shows faint traces of the Greek script. Dr. Michael Eisenberg \/ University of Haifa<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\nThe artifact is roughly 3.2 centimeters long and 1.95 centimeters wide, weighing 38 grams.<\/p>\n
Excavators observed signs of impact damage on the projectile and believe it once weighed 45 grams.<\/p>\n
The projectile was likely \u201cfired by the city\u2019s defenders from the city walls toward the enemy advancing to besiege the city,\u201d officials said.<\/p>\n
\n\u201cTo find a sling bullet with an inscription is very rare; to find this Greek word on a sling bullet is the first time in the world.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n
Lead bullets were considered a cheap but lethal form of ammunition at the time.<\/p>\n
\u201cSling bullets were produced by casting lead in stone molds in a relatively simple process that could be carried out even during a military campaign,\u201d the release noted.<\/p>\nThe scientists found the bullet in a necropolis area along an ancient road at Hippos. Michael Eisenberg\/University of Haifa<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\nOfficials said that \u201cmany projectiles were decorated with the name of a military commander, the name of a city, sarcastic humor similar to \u2018Catch!\u2019 or symbols intended to imbue them with power, such as a trident, lightning bolt or scorpion.\u201d<\/p>\n
The artifact represents an unusual and unprecedented find, said Eisenberg.<\/p>\n
\u201cTo find a sling bullet with an inscription is very rare; to find this Greek word on a sling bullet is the first time in the world,\u201d Eisenberg told Fox News Digital.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe know of similar mocking or sarcastic humor directed at the enemy, but this specific example was unknown and reveals the humorous local trend among the Hellenistic defenders of Hippos.\u201d<\/p>\nExcavators observed signs of impact damage on the projectile and believe it once weighed 45 grams. Universal History Archive\/Universal Images Group via Getty Images<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\nHe also noted the significance of where it was found, which strongly suggests it was fired during a siege.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe bullet\u2019s location near the ancient main road below the city\u2019s fortifications, in addition to the impact mark on the bullet, supplies a colorful reconstruction of the defenders shooting the bullet toward the besieging forces advancing towards the city,\u201d Eisenberg said.<\/p>\n
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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tStart your day with all you need to know\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/h3>\n \n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tMorning Report delivers the latest news, videos, photos and more.\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n
\n\t\t\t\t\t\tThanks for signing up!\t\t\t\t\t<\/h3>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n The discovery adds to a growing list of major archaeological finds at Hippos.<\/p>\n
Excavations unearthed a 1,600-year-old Christian care center for the elderly at Hippos last year, possibly the world\u2019s oldest nursing home.<\/p>\n
Also at Hippos, archaeologists found a trove of ancient jewelry and gold coins last year, thanks to metal detectors.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n
Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Archaeologists have uncovered a 2,100-year-old sling bullet in Israel inscribed with a pointed message aimed at enemy forces. The scientists found the bullet in a necropolis…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":42002,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[43],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-42001","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-lifestyle"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/foreignnewstoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/42001","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/foreignnewstoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/foreignnewstoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/foreignnewstoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/foreignnewstoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=42001"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/foreignnewstoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/42001\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/foreignnewstoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/42002"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/foreignnewstoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=42001"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/foreignnewstoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=42001"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/foreignnewstoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=42001"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}