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Artifact: Arrowheads Location Discovered: Jerusalem Date: 1000 B.C. - 73 A.D. Material: Bronze Length: 2.75 - 4.625 inches |
These bronze arrowheads were discovered in Jerusalem and have been dated between 1000 B.C. and 73 A.D. These arrowheads would have been attached to wooden shafts and were likely fired by composite bows, the most common type of bow in the Near East during the first millennium B.C. Archers were widely used throughout the ancient world during this period and Israel was no exception. Most archers fought on foot, but from the time of the Judges to roughly the 4th century B.C., archers were also deployed in chariots to act as a mobile strike force (1).
Archers are referenced numerous times throughout the Bible. The armies of Israel and Judah both relied on archers in combat, as did the armies of the enemy nations whom they fought. While the average soldier in the first millennium B.C. was not particularly well armored, even those who had the luxury of body armor were not immune to enemy arrows (see 1 Kings 22:34), making archers valuable troops on the field. Click on the following link to read more about archers in the Bible.
Archers are referenced numerous times throughout the Bible. The armies of Israel and Judah both relied on archers in combat, as did the armies of the enemy nations whom they fought. While the average soldier in the first millennium B.C. was not particularly well armored, even those who had the luxury of body armor were not immune to enemy arrows (see 1 Kings 22:34), making archers valuable troops on the field. Click on the following link to read more about archers in the Bible.
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(1) Alfred S. Bradford, With Arrow, Sword, and Spear: A History of Warfare in the Ancient World (West Port, CT: Praeger, 2001), 14.
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