cURL Error #:HTTP/2 stream 1 was not closed cleanly: PROTOCOL_ERROR (err 1){"id":11384,"date":"2022-05-14T22:06:06","date_gmt":"2022-05-14T22:06:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.longisland-ny.com\/2022\/05\/14\/ancient-jar-discovered-in-jerusalem-might-have-actually-been-a-powerful-weapon-2\/"},"modified":"2022-05-14T22:06:06","modified_gmt":"2022-05-14T22:06:06","slug":"ancient-jar-discovered-in-jerusalem-might-have-actually-been-a-powerful-weapon-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.longisland-ny.com\/2022\/05\/14\/ancient-jar-discovered-in-jerusalem-might-have-actually-been-a-powerful-weapon-2\/","title":{"rendered":"Ancient ‘Jar’ Discovered in Jerusalem Might Have Actually Been a Powerful Weapon"},"content":{"rendered":"
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A new study suggests that Crusades-era clay vessels unearthed in Jerusalem might actually be a very, very early version of hand grenades, a conclusion which I\u2019m sure anyone out there who is as nerdy as I am will be delighted to hear.<\/p>\n
The sphero-conical ceramic vessel might just look like your run-of-the-mill clay pot to the untrained eye but, although it was previously thought the jars were indeed regular, everyday drinking or storage vessels, researchers<\/a> have discovered remains of explosive materials, indicating they might have been something much, much cooler.<\/p>\n Neato.<\/p>\n Remains of the pots found at a site in the Armenian Gardens in Jerusalem<\/a> date between the 11th and 12th centuries, around the time that eastern and western forces were battling over control of the Holy Land in the Crusades.<\/p>\n Live Science<\/a> recently reported on the updated theory about the use of the vessels, also noting that firsthand accounts from Crusader knights<\/a> as well as Arab texts mention handheld explosive devices which detonated loudly and brightly upon impact.<\/p>\n Trending:<\/p>\n However, in the 1980s, it was theorized that the fragmented remains were possibly used for far more boring things, like storing oil or beer (not that oil and beer aren\u2019t cool; they\u2019re just not medieval-Holy-War<\/a>-hand-grenade cool).<\/p>\n Carney Matheson, who led the study, told Live Science that such explosives would require three components; fuel, an oxidizer to ignite the fuel and a vessel to apply the pressure needed to cause the kind of explosion that would send your enemies<\/a> fleeing.<\/p>\n \u201cThe grenade-like vessel that the researchers analyzed had much thicker walls than the other ceramics they studied and showed signs of being sealed with resin, which points to it being well-suited to maintaining the pressure needed for an explosion to occur,\u201d Live Science noted. \u201cHowever, to confirm that the jar was used as a grenade<\/a>, the team also had to provide evidence of explosive materials inside.\u201d<\/p>\n Crusader Hand Grenade Among Archaeological Treasures Retrieved from the Med. Sea https:\/\/t.co\/A1iDYZOWmY<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/MVsiuQwAgY<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 ? ? ? ? ? ? ?? (@VisionsVizionz) August 25, 2016<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n Previously, the hand-grenade theory was dismissed, as it was thought it would have required gunpowder<\/a>, which was not invented until the 13th Century.<\/p>\n \u201cOne thought was that there may have been an earlier arrival of this black powder technology that was kept secret,\u201d Matheson said. However, the researchers found no traces of black powder in the vessels.<\/p>\n \u201cInstead, the researchers found that the fuel used in the explosives was a mix of plant oils and animal fats, and the oxidizer was a mix of nitrates including sodium nitrate, calcium nitrate, potassium nitrate and magnesium nitrate,\u201d Live Science noted.<\/p>\n Ultimately, due to the distinct shape and thickness of the vessels, Matheson said that \u201cI do not think the type that we identified as a grenade was used for anything else other than an explosive<\/a> weapon.\u201d<\/p>\n\n