‘At Esur, on the Sharon Plain, and ‘At ?ippori, in the Lower Galilee, are two prehistoric settlements located in the territory occupied by Israel today. Work carried out in the last decade at both sites has led to the discovery of hundreds of objects, including dozens of stone projectiles.
Archaeologists found a total of 424 pieces (187 at ‘En ?ippori and 237 at ‘En Esur) of which up to 84% (357) were complete or slightly damaged. What surprised them, however, is that all the fragments had a standard measurement of 53 millimeters long by 31 millimeters wide and weighed 60 grams. It seemed done on purpose.
“The stones, which were intended to be projected from a sling, were smooth, with a specific biconical aerodynamic shape, allowing for accurate and effective projection,” say experts from the Israel Antiquities Authority in an article published in the Atiqot magazine.
That design, they add, “has been accepted as optimal for sling projectiles” and was later adopted by the Greek and Roman armies. With this data in hand, specialists have been clear: these ancient towns had the first known factories to produce war weapons about 7,200 years ago.
“These stones are, in fact, the oldest evidence of warfare in the Southern Levant. The similarity that exists between them points to large-scale industrial production. The overall uniformity of weight, shape, and size suggests that the slings were systematically manufactured for use by standard users (warriors), allowing for effective training,” the study authors write.
Both ‘En Esur and ‘En ?ippori were inhabited between 5800 and 4500 BC. The remains of “monumental public buildings” at the two sites hint at “a stratified society, involved in interregional or international exchanges and prone to conflict,” they indicate.
Experts explain that the apparent shift from non-formal sling stones, such as natural pebbles (small boulders), to highly standardized weaponry may indicate a proliferation of organized warfare during the Early Copper Age. A possibility that is reinforced by the increasing size of settlements in the Southern Levant at this time.
The fact that sling stones were often found in groups also provides clues to how they were used. According to the Israel Antiquities Authority, this arrangement indicates that the projectiles were often fired en masse, so each “group of pieces may represent the ammunition of a volley to be launched by a group of slingers.” “In war, this can cause formation breakdown in opposing ranks,” experts note.
Interestingly, these mass-produced weapons abruptly disappear from the archaeological record about a millennium later (c. 4,800 BC), although it is unclear whether this would indicate a decline in regional hostilities. Still, the find reveals a past of organized warfare in the Middle East that dates back more than 7,000 years and continues to the present day.
