Slingshot and Spear: The Ordinary Weapons of Hillfort Warfare

The popular image of Iron Age warfare is heroic: chariots, long swords, torcs, and dramatic single combat. The archaeological reality is more mundane and, in some ways, more interesting. At hillforts across Britain, the most abundant weapon-related finds are not swords or spears but slingstones — rounded pebbles, often stockpiled in huge numbers, ready to be hurled from ramparts.

At Maiden Castle, a cache of over 20,000 slingstones was found near the eastern entrance. At Danebury, slingstones turn up in pits and on ramparts. These are not exotic items. They are beach pebbles or river cobbles, selected for size and shape, sometimes modified slightly. Their presence in bulk suggests organised defence, and their cheapness suggests that warfare was not the preserve of an elite warrior class.

The Democracy of the Sling

A sling is a simple weapon: two cords and a pouch. It requires practice to use well, but the ammunition is essentially free. A defender on a rampart, hurling stones down at an attacker struggling up a slope, has a significant advantage. The stones may not kill outright, but they can disable, disorient, and demoralise. Volleys of slingstones would have been a terrifying experience.

Spears were the other common weapon. Iron spearheads are found at many hillforts, often in fragmentary condition. They could be thrown or thrust, used in hunting as well as combat. Unlike swords, which required significant iron and skilled smithing, spears were relatively accessible. A community could arm itself with spears and slings without needing a warrior aristocracy.

Swords and chariots did exist, and they were prestigious. But they were rare. The bulk of hillfort defence, if it came to fighting, was probably done by ordinary people with ordinary weapons.

This has implications for how we understand Iron Age society. If warfare was communal, then the hillfort was not just a refuge for elites but a shared investment. The ramparts were built by many hands, and they were defended by many hands.

The Archaeology of a Volley

Slingstones are often found in contexts that suggest stockpiling: pits near gateways, piles on ramparts, scatters near entrances. This is logistics, not heroism. Someone was thinking about ammunition supply. Someone was organising defence.

Experimental archaeology has shown that a skilled slinger can hit a human-sized target at 50 metres or more. From a rampart, that range extends. The psychological effect of a sustained slingstone barrage, combined with the physical difficulty of climbing a steep, possibly revetted slope, would have made direct assault on a hillfort a costly proposition.

This does not mean hillforts were never taken. They were. But the weapons that took them, and the weapons that defended them, were not the stuff of legend. They were the stuff of everyday life: stone, wood, sinew, and skill.