29 May 2023 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.

Banner
Related Post

New study reveals Dog ancestry can be traced back to two separate wolf populations

30 June 2022

30 June 2022

An international group of geneticists and archaeologists with participation of the University of Potsdam have found that the ancestry of...

The first settlement of the Cimmerians in Anatolia may be Büklükale

7 June 2022

7 June 2022

Archaeologists estimated that the first settlement in Anatolia of the Cimmerians, who left Southern Ukraine before Christ (about 8th century...

Negev desert archaeological site offers important clues about modern human origin

22 June 2021

22 June 2021

The archaeological excavation site at Boker Tachtit in Israel’s central Negev desert offers evidence to one of human history’s most...

Excavation of Carlisle Roman bathhouse uncovers a connection between the site and a third-century Roman emperor

27 September 2021

27 September 2021

Excavation of a Roman bath at the Carlisle Cricket Club in Stanwix, part of the Uncovering Roman Carlisle project, has...

Early Roman Aqueduct Discovered in Turkey’s Aydın Province

27 May 2021

27 May 2021

In the Kuşadasi region of western Turkey’s Aydin, archaeologists and scholars unearthed an approximately 2,000-year-old ancient Roman aqueduct. Experts believe...

2,700-year-old bronze figurine found in Germany’s Tollence River: goddess or weight?

9 April 2022

9 April 2022

A Bronze Age female figurine discovered in the Tollense River in northern Germany may have been a goddess, part of...

Archaeologists deciphered the Sabaean inscription on a clay jar finds link between King Solomon and the Queen of Sheba

3 April 2023

3 April 2023

Archaeologists deciphered a partially preserved inscription that was found on the neck of a large jar dated back to the...

Rare biblical ‘balsam tree’ found depicted on ancient Jerusalem amethyst seal

21 October 2021

21 October 2021

Archaeologists working in the Old City of Jerusalem have discovered an engraved amethyst seal in the Second Temple, thought to...

Roman soldier’s 1,900-year-old payslip uncovered in Masada

16 February 2023

16 February 2023

During excavations at Masada, archaeologists from the Israel Antiquities (IAA) uncovered a papyrus payslip dated to 72 BC belonging to...

New stone ram heads unearthed in Luxor, Egypt

15 October 2021

15 October 2021

Mustafa al-Waziri, the Secretary-General of the Supreme Council of Antiquities (SCA), recently announced the discovery of new stone ram heads...

Stunning carved stone depicting a mystery naked horseman is discovered at the Roman fort of Vindolanda

30 June 2021

30 June 2021

Near Hadrian’s Wall in northern England, archaeologists discovered a carved sandstone slab portraying a naked horseman. During the annual excavations...

Jordan’s mysterious ancient wall “Khatt Shebib”

22 October 2022

22 October 2022

The accomplishments of ancient civilizations are typically woefully underappreciated because we stereotype them as primitives who only wore loincloths, and...

A previously unknown subterranean tract of an Augustan-era aqueduct has been rediscovered in Naples

4 February 2023

4 February 2023

A previously unknown subterranean tract nearly half a mile long of an Augustan-era aqueduct has been rediscovered in Naples, southern...

Zeus Temple’s entrance was found in western Turkey’s Aizanoi Ancient City

31 July 2021

31 July 2021

During recent digs, the monumental entrance gate of the Zeus Temple sanctuary in the ancient city of Aizanoi, located in...

In western Turkey, inscriptions and 2,500-year-old sculptures were found

11 July 2021

11 July 2021

Two 2,500-year-old marble statues and an inscription have been found during excavations at the ancient city of Euromos, in Turkey’s...

Comments
Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *