Stone Projectiles from Roman Fort Apsaros, Georgia
Journal Title: Pro Georgia. Journal of Kartvelological Studies - Year 2017, Vol 0, Issue 27
Abstract
Stone balls are commonly found on archaeological sites associated with the Roman army. They present a great variety of sizes and were used for siege engines, as a projectiles for a slingshots and large metal arrowheads. During the archaeological research in Roman fort Apsaros were discovered 115 stone balls of various size and weight. This collection has been analyzed and organized according to the diameter and weight. The results were compared with the published research over stone balls from other places where the Roman army stationed. The stone balls from Apsaros were compared to the information about the ballista and their projectiles from the work of Vitruvius (Vit. De Arch. X,11.3). All stone balls found in Apsaros have been arranged in the chart. The coordinate system shows the relation between the mass and diameter for the individual bullets. By using this method we found the better distribution of the collection of the stone balls into five groups, as opposed to three groups as previously thought. In all cases, where it was possible, it also has been proven place where projectiles in the fortress were found. Localization of findings was compared with probably localization of the Roman fort Apsaros from the first centuries of our era. The research of stone balls from Roman fort Apsaros was able thanks to cooperation of the Polish and Georgians archaeologists during Gonio-Apsaros expedition. Joint expedition is conducting by the Institute of Archaeology University of Warsaw, the Polish Center of Mediterranean Archaeology of University of Warsaw and the Cultural Heritage Preservation Agency of Adjara.
Authors and Affiliations
Oskar Kubrak, Lasha Aslanishvili
Keywords
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