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© THE ISRAEL MUSEUM, JERUSALEM, BY NETA DROR

SLING PROJECTILES ranged from rough stones gathered from the field to expertly crafted balls of worked stone, dried clay, or cast lead. This pile of rounded stones represents a fraction of all of the sling stones found at Lachish, where, in 701 B.C., such ammunition was used by both the conquering Assyrian army and the city’s Judahite defenders. Made of hewed limestone, each ball measures around 2 inches in diameter and weighs about half a pound.