Ancient Tech You’ve Never Heard Of

[Jon Freitag]

The Cestrosphendon Dart

What was it?
A deadly dart designed to be launched from a sling — not thrown by hand! The Cestrosphendon (or kestros) was a small, iron-tipped projectile with a wooden shaft and fletching for stability, kind of like a tiny javelin-meets-arrow.

Who used it?
It first appeared in Macedonian armies under Philip V (3rd century BCE) and was likely used during the Macedonian Wars against Rome.  Some sources say it was used to punch through armor at a distance where arrows or slingstones fell short.

Why it's cool:

• Designed for slingers — not archers!
• Required a specialized sling to hurl it with high velocity
• Combined range, speed, and armor-piercing power

While it didn't become a widespread weapon, it's an incredible example of ancient battlefield innovation.


Ever heard of it before? Not me!

[Keraunos]

New one on me, too.  Let me see if I can convert some Macedonian slingers to Cestrosphendonophori!?

There is a nice video on YouTube, I find

https://youtu.be/r5PWq3XqGGw?feature=shared

[Imperial Dave]

Blimey...a new one on me too.

[Erpingham]

We've actually had conversations on it before and Björn Floderus actually commissioned figures armed with it in 28mm.

[Imperial Dave]

Well spotted sir

[Nick Harbud]

I don't know what effect these men will have upon the enemy, but, by God, they frighten me!

 

[Old Sarum]

I wonder how long it will be before Tod Cutler features them on his YouTube Channel!

[Peter Feinler]

Xyston make these in 15mm. See:

https://shop.ancient-modern.co.uk/anc20297---sphendonatai-with-kestrosphendone-3814-p.asp

Peter

[Keraunos]

Do any rules cater for them?

[Imperial Dave]

Oh no....I am not looking at my pile! 

[Erpingham]

Do any rules cater for them?

Were they common enough or spectacularly effective enough to need catering for?

[Nick Harbud]

...but it is easy enough to incorporate them in one's favourite ruleset.  Simply add a new tactical factor/combat result - "Using Cestrosphendon Dart +10 & all opposition removed from table". 

Even better than arming one's troops with chainsaw or maxim gun!

 

[Erpingham]

Exactly Nick. There is also the risk of the "flaming pig effect", where a military curiosity becomes a wargamer's must have because of a rule writer's completism.

[Jim Webster]

Do people field many staff slingers any more? I suspect they were briefly fashionable before flaming pigs

[RichT]

There is nothing new under the sun. I wrote an article on 'belosphendone' which appeared in Slingshot 312 (May-June 2017) and which also discussed the 'cestrosphendone'. That in turn arose from a forum discussion presumably about that time, though the search feature for some reason doesn't want to find it for me.

The entirety of the evidence for 'cestrosphendone' is one passage of Livy:

Livy 42.65: "They suffered mainly from the cestrosphendone, a novel kind of weapon invented during the war [with Perseus]. It consisted of a pointed iron head two palms long, fastened to a shaft made of pinewood, nine inches long and as thick as a man's finger. Round the shaft three feathers were fastened as in the case of arrows, and the sling was held by two thongs, one shorter than the other. When the missile was poised in the centre of the sling, the slinger whirled it round with great force and it flew out like a leaden bullet."

Though the passage of Polybius that Livy was paraphrasing is itself known from the Souda:

Polybius 27.11 "The kestros was a novel invention, made during the war with Perseus. This weapon consisted of an iron bolt two palms long, half of which was spike, and half a tube for the reception of the wooden shaft which was fixed into the tube, and measured a span in length and a finger-breadth in diameter. At the middle point of the shaft three wooden "plumes" were morticed in. The sling had thongs of unequal length, and on the leather between them the missile was loosely set. When the sling was being swung round, with the two thongs taut, the missile kept its place; but when the slinger let go one of the thongs, it flew from the leather like a leaden bullet, and was projected from the sling with such force as to inflict a very grievous wound upon any one whom it hit."

Some sources say it was used to punch through armor at a distance where arrows or slingstones fell short.

Which sources are these? To my knowledge the passages above are the only ones that exist. (Assuming 'sources' = 'ancient texts'.)

Were they common enough or spectacularly effective enough to need catering for?

No, absolutely not! They should be consigned, along with staff slings and 'belly bows', to the back of the drawer labelled "wargamers' history (do not open)". They existed, yes. They aren't worth making special rules for, no.