"Youtube clips with people using the Kestros" Topic
9 Posts
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Bjorn Seleukos | 17 Mar 2015 2:05 a.m. PST |
So far I have showed you pictures of the reconstruction of the kestros (dart-slinger). But today I have put som youtube clips of people actually using it! Enjoy! link |
KTravlos | 17 Mar 2015 2:09 a.m. PST |
my my you are committed. Bravo. |
skinkmasterreturns | 17 Mar 2015 3:03 a.m. PST |
Foundry had me beleiving that those were just chucked by hand.I also thought it was the origin of lawn jarts,which have also killed people. :) |
BigRedBat | 17 Mar 2015 3:12 a.m. PST |
That weapon has an impressive range! I wouldn't want to be on the receiving end… |
bsrlee | 17 Mar 2015 5:35 a.m. PST |
There seems to be one major problem with all these reconstructions – the original source specifies that it is 2 cubits long, the shortest cubit known in the ancient world is a bit over 13 inches (34.5cm) in Greek 'pygme' and even there the 'full' cubit or 'pechys' was around 18 inches (46 cm) so that makes the main body, without considering the tail unit, about 3 feet (90cm) long plus possibly another 9 inches (22cm) or half a cubit for the tail unit which may or may not be included in the 2 cubits. All these reconstruction look to be at most one cubit long, even if you use the 13 inch cubit it should be in the 26 to 36 inch range, or from the ground to the top of the hip for a modern sized person, proportionally longer if you are a malnourished peasant. |
Bjorn Seleukos | 17 Mar 2015 6:06 a.m. PST |
It looks like it was a miss-translation, it should be 2 palms, not cubits. See here for more information on the translation: link See paragraph 11 and note "a". |
aapch45 | 17 Mar 2015 2:21 p.m. PST |
Look through my older posts about slings…nobody believed me… Thanks Austin |
Parzival | 20 Mar 2015 12:53 p.m. PST |
Great videos. But it looks like a whole lot of work to do something that is better (and more quickly) done by either a.) Just chucking the thing, or b.) using a bow. But nevertheless, a very interesting weapon and unit that I had never known about until now. Fascinating, what men will do! Thanks! |
aapch45 | 20 Mar 2015 1:08 p.m. PST |
Parzival, Slings were cheap, and could be fielded en masse, quickly. The sling is a force multiplier, making your throw 4 times stronger. Bows were more expensive and harder to produce, and potentially less effective. A hail of small HEAVY darts is much more terrifying than large javelins or arrows… Plus, these can be thrown very very far, some times even further than an arrow could be fired. 400 meters is no small task, when bows that were frequently used during the period could only achieve 300-350 meters. Judging from the results I have achieved with rocks and throwing darts out of my slings, It's very understandable that such a weapon would be deployed rather often. Thanks Austin |
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