8 August 2025 The Future is the Product of the Past

Ancient objects found in Jerusalem could be hand grenades used 1000 years ago, New study says

New analysis into the residue inside ancient ceramic pots from 11th–12th century Jerusalem has found that they were potentially used as hand grenades, a new study suggests.

New analysis of four potsherds unearthed back in the sixties showed that one contained what looks to be explosive material.

Spherical and conical ceramic vessels dating from the ninth to the 15th century are found widely across the Middle East, but their uses are debated. Speculation has included that they were used for a variety of purposes, including beer-drinking vessels, mercury containers, containers for oil, and containers for medicines.

This latest research, led by Griffith University in Queensland, Australia, confirmed that three of the vessels contained oils and medicines, as expected.

The four potsherds analyzed were found in the Armenian Garden location in the walled Old City of Jerusalem between 1961–and 1967, and held in the Royal Ontario Museum.

One of the four, dubbed sherd 737, is easily the most significant, containing a flammable mixture that was probably used as an explosive. Rather than being an import from China, where gunpowder had been used since at least the ninth century, it seems this explosive was of local manufacture, and possibly invention.

A sphero-conical vessel. (Rogers Fund, 1940/Public Domain)
A sphero-conical vessel. (Rogers Fund, 1940/Public Domain)

Sherd 737 contains traces of sulfur, mercury, magnesium, and nitrates suggestive of a sophisticated explosive device very different from the black powder soon to arrive from China. The magnesium, for example, may well have come from the Dead Sea, where it was extracted at the time.

“This research has shown the diverse use of these unique ceramic vessels which include ancient explosive devices,” says molecular archaeologist Carney Matheson from Griffith University in Australia.

“These vessels have been reported during the time of the Crusades as grenades thrown against Crusader strongholds producing loud noises and bright flashes of light.”

“Some researchers had proposed the vessels were used as grenades and held black powder, an explosive invented in ancient China and known to have been introduced into the Middle East and Europe by the 13th century. It has been proposed that black powder may have been introduced to the Middle East earlier, as early as these vessels from the 9th-11th century.”

The researchers aren’t ruling out other potential uses for the fourth pot: a fuel source for a lamp maybe, or a container for oils, since there was also the presence of fatty acids (which have been used in early thermal weapons).

(Robert Mason, Royal Ontario Museum)

What they do say is that the grenade hypothesis is “worth considering further”, not least due to the vessel’s shape, size, and thickness.

Associate Professor Matheson said the research also revealed that some of these vessels had been sealed using resin.

“More research on these vessels and their explosive content will allow us to understand ancient explosive technology of the medieval period, and the history of explosive weapons in the Eastern Mediterranean,” he said.

This is another piece of evidence for researchers looking to understand how the war was waged thousands of years ago.

What remains uncertain is what exactly was inside these early hand grenades. A mixture known as Greek fire has been suggested, but there’s no consensus on what the recipe for this actually is – and its makers never documented the process of putting it together.

The research has been published in PLOS One.

Related Articles

A Connection Between Viking Knots And Quantum Vortices Discovered

14 December 2022

14 December 2022

Scientists demonstrated how three vortices can be linked in such a way that they cannot be dismantled. Although this study...

Neo-Assyrian Writing Boards: The Role of Beeswax, Orpiment, and Carbon Black in 7th Century BC Writing Techniques

13 April 2025

13 April 2025

Recent scientific investigations into the writing boards excavated from the ancient Assyrian city of Nimrud have shed new light on...

Thetford Hoard: Evidence of Continued Paganism in East Anglia Until the 5th Century

25 April 2025

25 April 2025

Recent discoveries from a treasure hoard unearthed in Thetford Forest, East Anglia, reveal compelling evidence that the region remained pagan...

Archaeologists unearthed the ruins of an imposing stoa from the Greco-Roman era in Sicily

1 April 2024

1 April 2024

Archaeologists have unearthed the ruins of an imposing stoa from the Greco-Roman period in the small village of Tripi in...

A 3,600-Year-Old Bronze Minoan Dagger Discovered in Antalya Underwater Excavation

29 August 2024

29 August 2024

A bronze dagger with silver rivets that dates to the Minoan civilization approximately 3,600 years ago was discovered during an...

A unique bone Scythian scepter from the 5th century BC was discovered in Northeast Bulgaria

1 October 2023

1 October 2023

A unique bone scepter belonging to a Scythian warlord from the 5th century BC was discovered during excavations in the...

Ancient Roman Chalice Contained Pig Fat Discovered in a 6th-century Anglo-Saxon Tomb in England

11 December 2024

11 December 2024

During excavations in Scremby, Lincolnshire in 2018, archaeologists uncovered an enameled copper alloy chalice in a 6th-century AD female grave....

The Discovery of a Historic Wooden Shipwreck in the North Sea

27 January 2025

27 January 2025

A section of a wooden shipwreck was uncovered near Rantum, a coastal village located on the island of Sylt in...

Archaeologists Uncovered a Roman-Era Clay Theater Ticket in Ancient City of Prusias ad Hypium

1 December 2024

1 December 2024

Excavations at the ancient city of Prusias Ad Hypium in the Konuralp region of Düzce in northwestern Türkiye have uncovered...

Czech Discovery Reveals One of the Largest Celtic Settlements in Central Europe

8 July 2025

8 July 2025

Over 13,000 artifacts, including gold coins and Baltic amber, discovered in one of Central Europe’s largest Celtic settlements. A groundbreaking...

Archaeologists find 2,000-year-old eyeshadow and blush in ancient Roman city of Aizanoi

24 September 2023

24 September 2023

Archaeologists discovered rare makeup products of 10 different colors and different sorts of hair accessories and jewelry during excavations at...

A rare statue of K’awiil, Mayan god of Lighting have uncovered in Mexico

1 May 2023

1 May 2023

In southeastern Mexico, archaeologists uncovered a rare sculpture of a powerful Mayan god near the path of a large-scale rail...

Archaeologists may have discovered the site where Otto the Great, founder of the Holy Roman Empire, died

5 October 2023

5 October 2023

Archaeologists believe they have found the site where Emperor Otto I (936-973), known as the Great, founder of the Holy...

On the eastern shore of the Marmara Sea, off the coast of Yalova, a 1700-year-old Shipwreck was discovered

23 August 2023

23 August 2023

A 1700-year-old shipwreck was discovered during maritime police training dives in the province of Yalova, located on the east coast...

11,000-Year-Old LSU Campus Mounds Are Oldest Known Human-Made Structures In North America

23 August 2022

23 August 2022

According to new research published in the American Journal of Science, two six-meter (20-foot) high mounds on the campus of...