Hellenistic Swallowtail Arrowheads

[sumskilz]

We find this particular type of cast bronze arrowhead all over Israel dating to the Hellenistic Period, such as from the Seleucid siege of Jerusalem 134-132 BCE:







When they have a shorter tang, it looks like maybe it was deliberately clipped off rather than cast that way. That bulb, not sure what to call it, where the tang meets the base of the blade is specific to this particular type as far as I know. I've seen arrowheads like this in a report from a cite near Alexandria, but I'm curious if any of you know if they're found in other parts of the Hellenistic world. I haven't made a concerted effort yet, but I haven't noticed them in reports from elsewhere, so I thought I'd ask. Maybe you guys have seen them in museums?

[paleologos]

It is possible that somebody did see them and did not notice them as an object of a distinct school of craftsmanship.
I'll keep an eye out for them from now on.

[sumskilz]

It is possible that somebody did see them and did not notice them as an object of a distinct school of craftsmanship.

Ah yeah, I suppose that is how that works.

I just stumbled upon a partial answer while trying to figure out the stamp that's on some of them:



It looks like a fused beta and epsilon.

Turns out this has been written about very recently:



That's only the stamped finds, so maybe the distribution of unstamped is broader. There are more unstamped than stamped finds in Israel.

One hypothesis the authors discuss is that these were used by a specific type of mercenary archers, possibly Cretans. They actually cite a guy I know pretty well, who I had no idea knew anything about arrowheads.

[Lord Oda Nobunaga]

They appear to be completely far off from the three winged arrow heads used by the Persians and Egyptians. They look kind of primitive and rustic actually.