The sling – a less known weapon of the Getes

The article discusses a group of little spherical or oval pieces made of stone, limestone and flint, with the diameter varying between 2 cm and 6 cm which may be analyzed as slings. 48 samples of the sling found at five locations, three settlements (Alcedar-„La Cordon”, Brad, Mășcăuți- „Dealul cel Mare”) and two graves (Agighiol, Golemani) have been published. Their chronology covers almost half of a millennium, from the 5th century BC (Golemani) to the 1st century AD (Brad). The distribution of the finds in the Getic area points to the East, which seems to confirm a theory that the Getes borrowed the weapon from their eastern neighbours, the Scythians. The discovery of slings in such graves as those from Agighiol and Golemani points to the fact that the weapon was not considered as rude and of low-status, because those belong to Getic chieftains.