Archaeologists found medieval hand grenades in Jerusalem

We know so little about the technologies of past eras that we tend to underestimate the technical potential of our ancestors. Archaeologists never tire of surprising us with new discoveries that completely change our understanding of the past. Medieval hand grenades were recently found in Jerusalem. Despite the fact that ammunition was manufactured in the 11th-12th centuries, the principle of their operation is the same as that of modern ones.

Scientists have long found small spherical or conical vessels made of clay during excavations in the Middle East. Previously it was assumed that they were used in the 11th-14th centuries to store mercury, aromatic oils and other important and valuable substances. But this time, the archaeologists transferred the containers to the laboratory to determine exactly what was in them.

To everyone's surprise, oddly shaped clay jugs sometimes store remnants of explosives. Dr. Carney Matheson from Griffith University investigated four containers found in the Armenian Gardens of Jerusalem during excavations. He stated that the vessels were used for different purposes. But the so-called "shard 737" seemed to him the most interesting.

There are traces of a combustible substance on its inner walls. It consists of sulfur, mercury, magnesium and nitrates. All this together could be an ancient explosive with good characteristics for those times. At the same time, it is absolutely clear that the mixture was locally produced, and not imported. All its components can be easily found on the shores of the Dead Sea.

Clay grenades were used during the Crusades. They were thrown at the enemy's fortifications in order to damage him and cause panic. Such bombs could have been armed by the soldiers of Sultan Saladin, who besieged Jerusalem in 1187 AD. Previously, it was believed that the first explosive in Palestine appeared in the 13th century. It was a smoky powder brought from China.

In the Celestial Empire, gunpowder was able to be made since the 9th century, however, they kept its recipe under the strictest secret. In those days, they were able to keep secrets — the secret of the famous "Greek fire" has not been revealed until now. Now it turned out that the explosives in Jerusalem began to be used 200 years earlier.