A lead sling bullet engraved with the names of Julius Caesar and the Ibero-Roman city of Ipsca has been discovered in the countryside of Montilla in southern Spain’s Andalusia region.
This is the first time on the Iberian Peninsula that an undisputed inscription with the name of Gaius Julius Caesar, abbreviated CAES, has been found on a projectile of this type. It was also the first trebuchet shell to be engraved with the place name Ipska. In fact, this is the first place name of a Romano-Hispanian city found inscribed on a trebuchet bullet.
The discovery was made thanks to a detailed study of the projectile carried out by Javier Moralejo and Jesús Robles of the Autonomous University of Madrid, together with Antonio Moreno of the Archaeological Museum of Cabra and José Antonio Morena of the Baena History Museum. It became possible. Their research has now been published in the University of Salamanca’s scientific journal Zephyrus.
The lead sling bullet was found in the Spanish countryside of Montilla, a town of about 23,000 people in the autonomous region of Andalusia, 12 miles from Baena. The town is located 49 kilometers from Cordoba at an altitude of 372 meters above average sea level. The horrifying final conflict of the civil war probably occurred at the Battle of Munda, the campaign that brought Julius Caesar here to fight the sons of Pompey in 45 BC.
In 45 BC, Julius Caesar and Pompey’s surviving sons, Gnaeus and Sextus Pompey, fought the last battle of the civil war in the countryside. The exact location of the Battle of Munda has long been debated, with the Montilla area being one of the likely locations. The discovery of lead sling bullets confirmed this suggestion and confirmed the alliance between Ipsca and the Caesarists.
The bullet is shaped like an acorn and has a pointed tip. Measures 4.5 cm long, 2 cm wide, and 1.7 cm high. The weight is 71.1 grams. And it has his two inscriptions engraved in relief: his IPPCA ve CAES.
Inscriptions of lead slingshot projectiles (Glandes inscriptae) were first used in Greece in the 5th century BC and continued into the early Roman Empire. The clay molds used to make the shells are engraved, and when the projectile hardens, a relief inscription is engraved on the body. The inscription usually included the maker’s name, military commander, corps, or place of deployment. .
Throughout history, slings became popular as weapons during ancient Greek and Roman times. The Roman army also adopted catapults for use by skirmishers. A small hand-operated firing weapon called a sling with a small cradle or pouch between two holding cords fired the bullet.
Cover photo: STILEarte