‘Rare’ ancient bullet — with ‘magic inscription’ — uncovered in Israel, experts say

Aspen Pflughoeft
·1 min read

Archaeologists in Israel unearthed a unique find: an ancient lead sling bullet engraved with a “magic inscription,” experts said.

While excavating to expand the city of Yavne, archaeologists found a small, almond-shaped piece of tan lead, according to a Dec. 8 news release from the Israel Antiquities Authority via a partner organization. They recognized the 2-inch-long find as a 2,200-year-old bullet for an early slingshot.

Carved in small Greek letters, the bullet’s inscription read, “Victory of Heracles and Hauronas,” Yulia Ustinova, a professor at Ben Gurion University of the Negev who deciphered the inscription, said in the release.

Heracles, known as Hercules in Roman mythology, is a legendary Greek hero known for his strength, Britannica reported. Together, Heracles and Hauronas were the patron deities of Yavne when the city was under Greek control, Ustinova explained.

Bullet “inscriptions were part of psychological warfare,” Ustinova said. “The inscriptions convey a message of unifying the warriors to raise their spirits, scare the enemy, or a call intended to energize the sling bullet itself magically…The announcement of the future victory of Heracles and Hauron was not a call addressed to the deity, but a threat directed towards the adversaries.”

This particular slingshot bullet may be linked to a conflict between the Greeks and the Hasmoneans in the second century B.C., according to Pablo Betzer and Daniel Varga, the directors of the excavation. During this conflict, the Hasmonean army attacked Yavne in a “fierce battle,” experts said. The bullet may have belonged to a Greek soldier, but experts cannot be certain.

This discovery is part of ongoing excavations in Yavne, a city about 15 miles south of Tel-Aviv.

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