Here is the text that went with Rob\'s presetation on the Balearic Slingers from session 9, 2010

1. SLIDE ONE:
THE BALEARIC SLINGERS
A BRIEF HISTORY
The Balearic Slinger is a military phenomenon dating back nearly 3,000 years ….. and he
still exists today!
SLIDE TWO: Model Balearic Slingers used today in
wargames.
NOT A NEW PHENOMENON – DAVID AND GOLIATH:
But this remarkable and outstanding soldier is not a new phenomenon - probably the first
reference to a sling was its use by David in his fight with Goliath, hurling a stone from
his sling into the forehead of the giant Philistine. It was a major weapon already used
effectively in battle. Far from being a lucky shot, the sling was in fact a very dangerous
weapon widely used in warfare and indispensable in many battles. There are other
references in the Bible of the sling being used “to the width of a hair” and they were so
deadly they could even aim at parts of the face.
REFERENCES TO BALEARIC SLINGERS GO BACK OVER 2,800 YEARS:
Stone-slingers from the Balearic Islands have been known since the year 700 BC when
they were forced to confront the attack of Greek and Phoenician pirates by launching
stones with their slings, and they won many battles for the Punics against the Romans.
Classical references show that the slingers fought alongside the Carthaginian army from
around the 6th Century BC until 201BC in campaigns in Sardinia and Sicily, and sling
shot have been found at military forts and on battlefields.
DID BALEAR ICS GET THEIR NAME FROM SLINGING?
so the inhabitants of the Balearic Islands to the east of Spain were well known for their
abilities as slingers and according to the Greek historian Polybius, the islands derived
their name from their ability - the Greek word ballein means to throw.

2. SLIDE THREE: From this old etching we see children
being taught to hit bread off a pole – they were not
allowed to eat until they completed the feat.
BALEARIC SLINGERS WERE FAMED FOR THEIR SKILL – EVEN AS
CHILDREN:
The slingers were famed for their skill, having started learning at a very early age. It is
said that their fathers would place a piece of bread on top of a pole (SEE ETCHING ON
SLIDE THREE) and the child was not allowed to eat until he had knocked it down with a
successful shot from his sling.
The islanders of the Balearic Islands were dependent on the Punic culture for their needs
and had an under-developed cultural level when compared to Ibiza but a key element
from this period was the Balearic Slinger. Later it was the role of the slinger in the
Roman army which helps explain the development of the military fort at Sanitja.
THE SLING – EACH MAN HAD THREE – AND THE SHOT:
The islanders used slings of three different lengths, depending on the range they had to
achieve.
The sling was usually a leather thong with a cup shaped insert half way along to hold the
slingshot. The three slings were often wound around the head but some sources say one
was wound around the head, one around the body and the other in the hand.
The three slings were of different lengths for stones of different sizes and to throw
different distances. The largest they hurled with as much force as if it were flung from a
catapult; and they seldom missed their mark. They later hurled small but deadly
projectiles of sun-baked clay from long range, and lead was also introduced while others
hurled fist sized rocks at closer quarters.
Examples of stones and lead projectiles can be seen in the Ecomuseum at Sanisera. Clay
baked missiles found by archaeologists are exceptionally heavy for their size and have a
high density, ranging in shape from round to oval. With a consistency of size, shape and
weight it made it easier for the slinger to achieve high accuracy, having to adjust only for
range.
The Romans used lead missiles cast in a foundry and they often bore the inscription of
the slinger’s army unit, the name of the region or of the commanding general. They could
range in weight and size from 13g to 185g – Balearic missiles were often 63mm in
diameter, about the size of a tennis ball. The lead missiles especially gave a longer range
because of their weight, but both lead and clay had less air resistance for the same size
and were far more accurate than stones because they were symmetrical.
MORE ACCURATE THAN A BOW AND ARROW:
Archers of the time practiced up to 180 metres whereas slingers were accurate up to 250
metres. Ranges of 400 metres could even be reached but at that range were probably
aimed at groups of soldiers and did relatively little damage.

3. Using their simple leather straps and a shot, slingers could fire at distance over 200
metres, often killing opponents at ranges archers couldn’t dream of reaching, using their
different slings for closer combat on foot or for distance shooting against mounted
opponents.
A missile leaving a sling can attain a velocity of about 28 metres a second and were more
effective than arrows against soldiers clothed in leather as they did not need to penetrate
the leather in order to hurt. If the soldier was wearing no protective clothing, the missile
could easily penetrate the body up to a range of 100 metres – Celsius, a medical writer
from Greek and Roman times, gives details of how to remove lead and stone missiles
form the bodies of soldiers.
SLIDE FOUR: replica sling, original slingshot and
diagram of a slinger in action.
SLIDE FIVE: The Balearic Slingers, their uniforms,
equipment and weapons.
THE BALEARIC SLINGERS WERE CATEGORISED AS PSILIO;
The Balearic Slingers were categorised as psilio, a term used to describe light infantry
and meaning bare, or stripped, and they acted as skirmishers and missile troops. Known
for their accuracy and ferocity, they were used in many battles. They often went into
battle with little protection – sometimes even naked, hence the name – wearing no body
armour just a woollen tunic tied at the waist. They sometimes carried a javelin burnt at
the end to harden it and in some cases tipped with a small iron point, and sometimes
carried a short stabbing sword and a goatskin shield. They were often from the poorest
citizen classes but were considered a valuable part of the Carthaginian mercenary army.
TACTICS WERE RAIDS AND SWIFT AMBUSHES:
Their tactics were based on raids and swift ambushes, followed by rapid withdrawals into
wild and broken terrain. All who faced the Iberians found their methods of waging war
unnerving. If forced into open battle, they fought in a loose, non-linear formation,
attacking and withdrawing, making feints and then attacking somewhere else. This could
apparently go on for days.
They fought irregularly and in loose formation and were used to harass the enemy,
hoping to provoke disorder in their ranks and protect their own lines from skirmishes by
the enemy.

4. SLIDE SIX: A warrior with his slings around his head,
waist and one in his hands for use.
THE SLINGERS SERVED IN ARMIES AS MERCENARIES:
The slingers served as mercenaries, first under the Carthaginians and later under the
Romans.
The Carthaginian military was unique in that it relied heavily on mercenaries to fight its
wars abroad, using the vast wealth gained from trading.
In first the Sicilian Wars and then the Pyrrhic war the Carthaginians enlisted the help of
Balearic Slingers in their battles
Carthaginia was in a constant state of struggle with the Roman Republic which led to a
number of conflicts known as the Punic Wars. They recruited many soldiers from Spain
where heavy infantry as well as cavalry and light troops and javelin throwers were
employed,
But it was mostly the Balearic Slingers who were in greatest demand from Iberia.
THERE WERE SOME NOTABLE SUCCESSES FOR THE CARTHAGINIANS:
There were some notable successes.
In 216 BC at the battle of Cannae, Hannibal smashed the Roman army with his much
more highly trained and lighter army, inflicting much damage. Of particular importance
in the battle were the Balearic Slingers – they had two corps of a thousand men each and
were so accurate and fired at such a volume that there were deemed more useful than
archers.
Hannibal is understood to have posted many of the slingers directly opposite the Roman
cavalry quite deliberately to disrupt both their men and horses – in fact the commander of
the roman cavalry Aemilius Paullus was so severely wounded at the start of the battle by
one of the stones from a slinger that he fell from his horse or chose to dismount. His men
took this as a signal to do the same – and the Carthaginians used this to their advantage
and brought about the rapid collapse of the Romans.
THEN THEY FOUGHT FOR THE ROMANS:
The last battle the Balearic Slingers took part in with the Carthaginians was Zama in 201
BC where they were deployed as a spearhead among 12,000 foreign troops Hannibal had
placed in front line of his army, right behind his elephants, but they were defeated and
from that point on the slingers were enlisted into and fought for the Roman army.
After the third Punic War Carthage was destroyed and then occupied by Roman forces -
nearly all the empire fell into Roman hands.
After victory in the Punic Wars, the Romans under Quintus Metellus Balearicus
conquered the islands of Mallorca and Menorca and the military fort at Sanitja was
occupied from 123BC until 45BC.
THE SLINGERS AT THE SANITJA MILITARY PORT:
Before the Romans settled on Menorca at Sanitja Bay in 123BC the slingers, whom the
Romans had always admired and appreciated, were already integrated into their military
system.

5. Rome needed to increase the size of its fighting force as its empire grew and it needed a
restructuring of the army, recruiting soldiers from the territories they had defeated.
Non Italian troops were needed as auxiliaries and the Balearic Slingers were recruited
and trained to take part in Roman conflicts. Some slingshot have been found outside of
the Sanitja military camp which suggests they were used in battle to keep some other
attacking army out.
Shot inscribed with the markings for Quintus Caecilius Metellus Pius show that the
slingers were in his service at Sanitja in 80BC.
And the recovery of shot from other battle sites point to the continuance of the fort at
Sanitja.
SLIDE SEVEN: Lead slingshot and a modern-day slinger:
THERE ARE EXAMPLES OF SLINGSHOT IN THE SANITJA ECOMUSEUM:
The slingers first used pebbles form the riverbeds as shot as can be seen from the
ecomuseum, but archaeologists have also recovered lead ingots here which were melted
down into slingshot.
PEACE AND THE SLINGERS DEPLOY:
With peace eventually coming to the area, Caesar had to reconstruct his army to move his
limited number of legions to different frontiers, and this could be a reason why the fort at
Sanitja was abandoned in 45BC. The process of Romanisation had begun and the troops
were no longer needed here.
BUT THE SLINGERS ARE STILL WITH US TODAY:
But the slingers have not disappeared from Menorca completely and sling contests still
take place nowadays, with people reminiscing over the famous stone-slingers and re-
enacting their achievements.
And they are celebrated in war games around the world, with discussion over their
prowess and success found on scores of different internet sites.
SLIDE EIGHT: The formidable sight of slingers in action.
SLIDE NINE: The Balearic Slinger – not a cocktail but a
feared warrior.
SO you can see the Balearic Swinger is not a cocktail, like the gin and brandy spiced
Singapore Sling, but a much sought after, successful and highly trained mercenary who
goes down in history as a feared warrior.