Leaded Bronze Arrowheads at Daskyleion

Abstract

Arrowheads made of leaded bronze and unearthed in Daskyleion during the excavations between 1954-1959 and 1988-2019 constitute the subject of this study. 406 leaded bronze arrowheads have been found up to now in a grave named Tumulus T6. Leaded bronze arrowheads from Daskyleion date to the 5th and 4th centuries BC. The arrowheads are here classified according to their function. Especially some of the suggestions on archaeological typology proposed by different scholars are practically tested here as a case study using the Daskyleion arrowheads. This typology points to which arrowheads were used as military or hunting weapons in Daskyleion. It can be argued that lead, highly detected, was used in these arrows for “engineering” purposes. In addition, the deformation observed on the arrowheads is explained using historical events that occurred in the settlement and narrated by ancient authors. Consequently, the leaded bronze arrowheads used at Daskyleion are comprised of samples quite common in the Eastern Mediterranean. Fortunately, these examples were mostly found in the datable layers at Daskyleion.