More On Slings

FURTHER to my post on the relative ranges of slings and bows, I came across this reference in William Hamblin's Warfare In The Ancient Near East To 1600 BC - Holy Warriors At The Dawn Of History.

"The sling made its first appearance as a significant weapon among the Egyptians in the martial murals from the tombs of Beni Hasan [a cemetery near Memphis].

"It is perhaps not coincidental that the weapon is associated with Canaanite mercenaries, since the weapon is a favourite of nomads.

"While several Canaanite mercenaries are shown with slings, only one native Egyptian is shown using the weapon.

"In the siege scene at Beni Hasan slingers are shown standing behind the archers, possibly indicating that their effective range was greater than that of the Egyptian bow."

All in all I feel I am right in amending the ranges in Neil Thomas's biblical rules in Ancient & Medieval Wargaming so slingers have the same range as archers on foot, ie 24cm, rather than the 16cm of mounted archers.