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Byzantine fire grenades

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wileyc:
So sort of off hand question.

Occasionally I have seen clay I think byzantine fire grenades , I am familiar with their history at least with casual per usual from varied  auction houses and such.

Is there a reference I wonder for these? Seems fakes would be a big concern, wondering if anyone has collected or acquired one?

Cw

SC:
There is absolutely no proof that these items, which have been labelled fire-grenades or Greek-fire containers since the 19th century are truly for such purposes, despite the claims made by many a vendor.

They are actually Arabic and not Byzantine items.  They date from 9th to 15 century (especially 12th to 13th c) and are found across the Islamic world from North Africa to Central Asia.

In archaeological terms they are known today as Sphero-conical vessels.

You can find several papers online that outline the variety of modern interpretations which include: fire starters, parts of early hookah-like water pipes, alcohol containers, containers for alchemical materials such as mercury, drug containers, perfume containers.

While it is clear that they contained a liquid and have a very narrow neck which means they had to be filled using a funnel and could only our out a slow stream, a key problem is that none are known to have any chemical residue in them - which may be from archaeologists or looters washing them.

They key arguments against them being fire grenades are:
- many are ornate, glazed and/or decorated and this appears to make little sense for an item to be destroyed;
- they are too large to throw far when filled but too small to throw with a mangonel or catapult;
- and most importantly, the very few found in actual properly documented archaeological excavation appear to all be found in domestic contexts with cooking pots, vessels, ovens and lamps.

To me this last point is the most damning. The context clearly implies that they are kitchen-related.

Some authors supporting the grenade theory have used as evidence the fact that several have been found near fortresses or in fortified areas of cities.  However, this should not be confused with full archaeological context.  The fortified areas of cities and areas near fortresses includes military weapon storage sites but they also include everything else - military barracks and administrative buildings, but also the shops, houses, mosques, landfill/garbage, etc. of those people living in the area.  In none of these cases was the actual proper find spot identifiable.  So in terms of exact locational evidence we only have the kitchens....

See for example the article: A Note on “Grenades” as Fire-starter Flasks by Donald Whitcomb of the University of Chicago

and

The Sphero-conical Vessel: A Difficult Interpretation between Historical Sources and Archaeology by Stéphane Pradines of Aga Khan University.

SC

wileyc:
Thank you.

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