The Deadliest Weapon of the Ancient World

The deadliest weapon of the ancient world was a simple piece of string. A weapon so powerful it could match the force of a modern firearm.

I spent weeks training to master this ancient art. Now I'm putting it to the ultimate test against ancient armor, ballistics gel, and more. Let's find out if the sling really lives up to its reputation.

A sling is simply a string with a pouch in the middle. You hook your finger in one end, grab the other end, load a projectile in the pouch, then throw it. The string gives leverage to your throw, allowing you to throw small stones far faster and farther. It is basically the same concept as the spear thrower, but it can be used to throw all kinds of projectiles, from screaming fast lead bullets to incendiary devices.

But most people have no idea how to actually throw a sling, me included. I started out just doing whatever I could to throw a ball, but half of the time the ball fell out, and the other half I couldn't hit the broadside of a barn. How am I ever going to nail a ballistics gel head at this rate?

So, I spent weeks trying to master this thing. I didn't have much technique at first. That was until I realized something. Slinging is just throwing.

So, I got a tennis ball and practiced this motion. All you have to do is give the sling a second to spin around your head and then throw. And finally, I was accurate. I could aim just with my eyes and throw exactly where I was looking. So, let's see if we can destroy this clay pot.

So, I kept practicing every single day. Slowly but surely, accuracy improved and then came the power. This weapon is absolutely devastating. And I've only trained for a couple of weeks. Imagine someone who trained their entire life. And this is why shepherds started training their kids at like 5 years old. By the time they were teenagers, the sling had become an extension of their arm. I am starting to understand why the Romans had thousands of slingers in their army.

Now that I am somewhat skilled, let's put this weapon to the test. We are going to test its speed, power, penetration, and pure carnage against ballistics gel.

First, we are testing the velocity. The velocity really depends on two main variables: the length of the sling and the projectile. Longer slings are generally more powerful, but too long and you eventually lose speed. I played around for a while until I found a length that worked for me.

Next, it was time to use the right projectile. Regular old rocks work great, but they aren't very dense. Instead, ancient people commonly used lead projectiles. And in the modern day, it is still used for bullets. And have you ever wondered why? Well, because it is very dense, meaning less surface area and therefore less air resistance. This allows the projectile to maintain its speed and deliver more energy to the target. And for slinging, this is a big deal. This lead projectile has the same mass as this rock, but a fraction of the air resistance.

But it doesn't stop there. These biconicle projectiles spin just like a bullet when they leave the pouch. This makes them more aerodynamic and means they impact the target point first, focusing all the energy on the tip. This will definitely destroy ballistics gel. Let's see just how much faster these lead bullets are than rocks.

First up, let's throw some rocks in front of this fancy radar chronograph. 156, 152, and 152. But now, let's compare our lead projectiles. 234, 233. Now throw as hard as I can. 235. Lead is much faster.

This speed helps lead sling bullets penetrate armor and flesh like a bullet. The Romans even had special surgical equipment for removing sling bullets from bodies. But just how powerful are their projectiles? By measuring the mass of them, we can use some simple math to calculate the energy this weapon has. My fastest test with a lead projectile was a 50 g projectile moving at 235 ft per second, totaling 128 joules. That is on par with a .22 LR, a small but deadly caliber.

Here are 10 of the most popular pistol calibers from lowest to highest energy. I want to see how many I can surpass with the sling. I specially casted bullets weighing 50, 100, 200, and 300 g to see which will produce the most energy.

All right, first let's see how fast we can throw the 50 g. 235, 235. But now, let's move on to the 100 g, which I'm much more comfortable throwing. If I can get 240 FPS with this projectile, that surpasses a 380 ACP in energy. 237. Wow, we're pretty close. That one felt good. 238. Man, we're so close to that 240. 240. 240 and a half. So, with a piece of string and a lead ball, my arm is as powerful as a pistol.

But what if we go heavier than this to 200 g? I wonder if we can get more energy. All right, here we go. This is pretty heavy. 157. All right, I'm going to throw this as hard as I can. That had some power. Let's see. 179.

Now, let's move on to the 300 g projectile. Got MOGs written across it. Oh god, that hurts my shoulder. 141.

After doing the math, I found that the 200 g sling bullet moving at 179.5 FPS was my most powerful throw of the day. At 299 joules, it carries the same energy as a .38 special round, meaning my sling has the same kinetic energy as the most common revolver caliber, even though it's moving far slower. The sling bullet is over 25 times heavier. The 300 g projectile was nearly as powerful at 281 joules, while the 100 g projectile had 268 joules, but I am no professional thrower.

I've heard claims that the sling could produce as much energy as a .44 magnum revolver. At over 1100 joules, that is quite the energy. Theoretically, the stronger and more explosive the person, the more energy they could put into the throw. One historical account claims that Balearic slingers were accustomed to slinging stones weighing a Mina, which equals to 595 g. Such a massive rock could have had as much energy as a revolver. I'm sure if I got a pro baseball player and taught him to master the sling, they could throw about twice as hard as I can. So, a dual range of 500 to 800 joules may be possible, meaning an especially strong slinger could likely produce as much energy as a .357 Magnum.

Now that we know how powerful this weapon can be, let's test it against some amazing targets. First up, this cute little ballistics gel rabbit. That would be one dead rabbit.

Now it's time for the real test. This is a Roman cavalry helmet. It features a full bronze face mask. These were actually worn by some cavalry. An example was even found in Tudelberg forest. Let's see how effective a Germanic slinger would have been against the Romans.

So, that shot definitely did a lot of damage. Impacted right on the forehead and pushed the helmet in quite a bit. You can see right here, it did some damage to the ballistics gel, too. It's cut in there. So, he'd probably be alive, but he'd have one hell of a headache.

Now, I'm testing this massive 200 g lead projectile. Well, he probably would have survived, but we definitely disabled his armor. You can see a big hit right here, here, and right here. And we also knocked his face mask off. Look at that big impact right there on his cheek. This is really thick bronze, but it still dented it and knocked it off the helmet. And if we take off the helmet, you can see that he has some big cuts to his brow right here, and this made it right to the skull. So, he probably would have survived, but he might have been unconscious. That's a reminder to always wear your helmet, Romans.

But now, let's take off the helmet. And see what the sling would do to your head. That one skidded right off the top of his head, so it didn't penetrate, but it probably would have killed you. Check that out. That's nasty. It just went right into his collar bone, lodged in there. Probably broke his bone. Stuck right into his flesh. Wow. Holy [ __ ] That one hit him straight in the forehead and then just bounced off this way. I mean, that would probably have to kill you, right? But he seems okay so far. Holy [ __ ] guys. Check this out. This went straight into his neck. It would have went right through your jugular and even into his spine. This is definitely a fatal shot. Oh my god. This is the weirdest thing I've ever seen happen to ballistics gel. It went right through his teeth down into his jaw and lodged right here. That most likely would not have killed you, but that's probably the most painful thing I could possibly imagine. Well, that definitely would have killed him. You can see right here where his skull totally exploded, even penetrating into his brain. So yeah, you're not going to survive that. That shot obliterated the left side of his face. It blew open the side of his head. So he would have definitely been dead. You can see his brain in there. Well, I think he would be dead. His entire face and skull is completely blown apart. The sling is a seriously deadly weapon. A sling bullet to the head was almost certain death. This made helmets and upper body protection essential in the ancient world.

But here's the question I actually cannot wait to answer. Could a sling bullet penetrate your ribs? We typically think of these weapons as killing with blunt force, but these little lead projectiles are the size of a bullet and are flying point first into your body. So, I made a block of ballistic gel with ribs inside to see what would happen if a sling bullet hit your body or if you tried hunting a deer with it.

No way. It penetrated right through the ribs. Wow. Look at that. Oh my god, that went straight through the ribs. Look at that. It flew through the ribs and out the other side of the block. Man, these things are deadly. They're just like bullets. This one impacted a rib, but still had enough energy to penetrate into the block. What? What? Look at that shot right there. It totally decimated a rib and penetrated into the block. This one too hit a rib and penetrated past them. All of these shots could have penetrated your lungs and been fatal. Many of the shots went between ribs and went right through the block while the ones that hit the ribs still penetrated. Meaning almost all these shots could have been fatal. It makes me think that these were specially designed to penetrate into the bodies of soldiers. We know for a fact that sling bullets could penetrate deep into the body since Roman physicians wrote about how to remove them from flesh and even bones.

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Now, let's get back to the video. Next, let's learn about the actual history of this weapon. The sling is likely one of humanity's oldest weapons, though their perishable nature means few survive in the archaeological record. Even Neanderthals made cordage, so it is possible it is well over 100,000 years old, used by multiple species of human. As of 2026, the oldest evidence comes from this drawing dating back to 9,000 years ago, and the earliest sling stone identified as 8,000 years old. Both found in the Levant. The oldest surviving slings actually come from Peru at 4,500 years old. And the oldest one from the Old World comes from Egypt at 4,000 years old.

Clearly, the sling is a very ancient weapon, and almost every army of the ancient world had slingers, many even with specialized units. The Balearic slingers are by far the most famous. The Balearic Islands sit right off the coast of Spain. And since time immemorial, they had been shepherds defending their stock with their sling. According to the ancient historian Diodorus Siculus, mothers trained their children from infancy, refusing to let them eat until they had successfully hit a piece of bread off a post with their sling. Many men would mature into professional military slingers. They served as mercenaries, first with the Carthaginians in the Punic Wars. Hannibal used 2,000 slingers to harass and batter the Roman lines. But as we know, the Romans would ultimately win the war and the Balearic slingers would end up serving as mercenaries in the Roman army.

Balearic slingers went into battle with little protection and just a javelin. But of course, their effectiveness was with the three slings they carried. They were all of different lengths, optimized for specific stones and distances. They would carry extra slings around their head and waist. Pretty fashionable if you ask me. Shorter slings were used for throwing stones straight at targets at a relatively close range, while longer slings were used for long distances. Some of these slingers were even mounted on horses. A slinger on a horse is just such a strange combination.

But this historical account will help you realize just how terrifying these weapons were. "But when Hamilar saw that his men were being overpowered and that the Greeks in constantly increasing numbers were making their way up into the camp, he brought up his slingers who came from the Balearic Islands and numbered at least a thousand. By hurling a shower of great stones, they wounded many and even killed not a few of those who were attacking and they shattered the defensive armor of most of them. For these men who are accustomed to slinging stones weighing a Mina contribute a great deal towards victory in battle since from childhood they practiced constantly with the sling in this way they drove the Greeks from the camp and defeated them."

Imagine a thousand men slinging stones at your army. I recreated what it would be like for just a dozen men to sling at you. In fact, slings were just as much a psychological weapon as they were a lethal one. Many slings were equipped with crackers at the end. Just like a whip, these little tassels break the sound barrier, producing an incredibly satisfying noise. Just look at how fast the tassel moves in comparison to the rock. That's over a thousand mph. Practically, it also immediately tells the slinger that his form was correct, as it won't crack if you don't make a perfect chain of energy. While it is a pleasing noise for me, it filled the nightmares of ancient armies. Imagine hearing hundreds of these cracks every second while tiny lead bullets whiz past your head, and suddenly the men around you start dropping like flies. This sounds exactly like modern warfare, but projectile weapons are anything but modern.

But the terror didn't end there. Lead projectiles were often cast with insulting phrases and symbols. Seriously, imagine if your friend was killed by a bullet with this on it. They were typically cast in a bronze mold or sometimes by just pressing a finger into the sand then pouring lead in. Some of them read, "Take this. Catch. Ouch. Get pregnant with this." And even "For Poppy's backside." This just makes me imagine what trash talk would look like on a sling bullet in 2026. So, of course, I had to make some custom sling bullets. Comment down below what you would put on your sling bullet and subscribe.

The most famous ancient account of the sling, of course, comes from the Bible. During a war between the Philistines and the Israelites, the giant warrior Goliath taunts the Israelites for 40 days, challenging them to single combat until a young shepherd named David accepts. He was armed with only a sling, five smooth stones, and faith in God. Despite ridicule and no armor, David strikes Goliath in the forehead with a stone, knocking him unconscious, then using the giant's own sword to finish him off. The Philistines flee, the Israelites claim victory, and David is established as a hero and future leader. But this retelling of the story is a bit misleading. David is sometimes misremembered as a child, but the Bible clearly states that he was a brave man and warrior. Furthermore, his choice to use a sling wasn't a joke to anyone on that battlefield, as during this time they were serious military weapons. In many ways, David was never the underdog, especially after seeing what a sling can do to a human head.

Guys, this video took over a month to make. All I ask is that you hit that like button so we can hit 100,000 likes so I can keep spending thousands of dollars on these videos. But how does the sling really compare to other weapons? For one, every soldier could be armed with a sling, and ammo was everywhere. This made it the most common ranged weapon of ancient times. The sling also has a relatively fast fire rate.

All right, so let's see how many stones I can sling in a minute. Starting now. Got one more. Oh, I'll have to go back and count how many shots that was and put it right here. But that was pretty good. That is about as fast as you can realistically shoot a bow in combat. But considering slingers could find ammo everywhere, they could keep up rapid slinging for hours, while an archer might only have a couple dozen arrows.

But another huge advantage was range. Ancient writers claimed that a sling with a lead bullet could outrange bows. The average bow during classical antiquity could shoot around 650 ft, which most slingers can accomplish with some training and a good stone. But the world record is actually 1565 ft set in 1992 by David Enval. Though he had access to modern materials, I don't doubt that professional ancient slingers could reach out over 1,000 ft with lead bullets. This gave them a massive advantage for engaging and harassing distant armies, but also for sieges. On both sides of a siege, slingers were heavily utilized. Some 22,000 slingstones were found at Maiden Castle in England. It is proposed that Iron Age hill forts of Europe were designed to maximize the effective defense by slingers. Some scholars have referred to slings as the artillery of the Iron Age, and I couldn't agree more.

Slings are also very versatile weapons, able to throw incendiary devices. Julius Caesar writes in De Bello Gallico, Book 5 about clay shot being heated before slinging so that it might set fire to thatch. "They begin to sling red hot bullets of softened clay and to hurl blazing darts on top of the huts, which in Gallic fashion had been thatched with straw. These speedily caught fire, which the strength of the wind carried to every corner of the camp." This account just goes to show how adaptable the sling was to any situation.

When people talk about the sling, they almost always focus on the cultures of the Mediterranean and surrounding areas. But in truth, these weapons were just as common in other parts of Asia and the Americas. Aztec armies used the sling alongside the atlatl and the bow. When engaging an enemy army, a barrage of all three of these weapons occurred before the lines met in close combat. But the Aztecs also employed units of bowmen and slingers from conquered provinces. Just like the Romans, they would harass enemy formations, then retreat to the flanks when the two armies met.

Just like the battles in the Old World, when the conquistadors blazed their path into the heart of Mexico, they feared the sling more than any other native weapon. Most of the time, the conquistadors were not covered head to toe in steel plate armor. Many couldn't afford it. While heat and rust made it difficult to effectively use, and as a result, most were vulnerable and slings caused severe injury and death to many. In the memoirs of Bernal Diaz, he writes about an encounter with the Aztecs. "As the ground was strewn with stones, they did us much injury with their slings, and by an artful maneuver attempted to surround us, killing two of our men and four horses in the first encounter." So despite their often excellent protection, slings and other native weapons were still a constant threat to conquistadors and their horses. The Spanish had firearms and crossbows. But their small ammo supply limited their use. While slingstones were everywhere, and in the rocky hills of the Andes, the even deadlier Inca slingers ruled. They trained from childhood, slinging rocks to defend their llamas and hunting whatever they could. Their slings were made of llama wool. Some of these things were as much as 86 inches long. Stones were abundant everywhere in the Andes. And since metallurgy had existed for 4,000 years, they also had plenty of lead for their projectiles.

Inca slingers made up the first line of the army alongside the archers. They were often employed on high vantage points to rain down stones on enemies, but also to throw directly into enemy lines in close quarters. Pizarro's conquistadors deeply feared the Inca sling. One conquistador said that an Inca slinger could kill a horse and could break a sword in two pieces and Pizarro's own brother Juan was killed by a slinger. In 1536, he was defending a siege on Cusco. On his side, he had 200 Spaniards, while the Incas had 2,000. Juan was unable to wear his helmet because his jaw was severely swollen after being hit by a sling just days before. This was a fatal mistake as another slinger made his mark on Juan's head. The brother of one of the most famous conquistadors in history laid out by a simple stone. The Inca slingers were in reality just as skilled as the Balearics, though their story has been mostly forgotten.

Another people who were masters of the sling were the Chamorro of the Mariana Islands during the Spanish-Chamorro Wars. God, the Spanish were just everywhere. They once again had to face excellent slingers. A missionary who witnessed these battles said, "Their offensive weapons include the sling, which they aim very skillfully at the head. They whirl and shoot those weapons so violently, should it make an impact upon a more delicate part like the heart or head, the man is flattened on the spot. Then, if envy would make them want to burn a house from a distance, they would stuff the perforated side of it with tow burning with a very ferocious fire, which with a swift movement became a flame and sail away to seek shelter in enemy houses." This is the second account of a sling being used as an incendiary weapon in history. It's also amazing to me that a bunch of cultures that are completely unconnected to each other hyper-focused on slinging and as a result were very successful. The sling is so culturally important to this day in the Mariana Islands that the flag of Guam actually has an oval-shaped sling stone on it. Slings were present in many societies such as the Polynesians, Apache, Inuit, and more.

Slings were amazingly versatile weapons, but why were they ultimately replaced? While slings continued to be used across the world until better weapons and armor replaced them, in Europe, slings and staff slings were commonly used throughout medieval times until they were largely replaced by the time the Renaissance rolled around. This was mainly due to improved bows and crossbows, which could now shoot further and harder than slings. Crossbows also did not need much training to learn as opposed to slinging. More protective plate armor made knights basically invulnerable to slings and later gunpowder weapons made them completely irrelevant. Slings would still be used around the world for some time, but advanced firearms would come to dominate. But funnily enough, guns eventually made steel plate armor obsolete. And that's why the Chamorro people were flattening Spanish soldiers in the 1600s. I wish Napoleon and American revolutionaries would have employed some slingers. Think of all those unarmored soldiers in mass formations. You could sling at them from hundreds of feet away.

Slings actually have had some use in the modern era for a number of insane reasons. In various wars, they have been used to throw grenades. Soldiers in the Spanish Civil War used them to throw grenades over buildings. The Finns used slings to launch Molotov cocktails against Soviet tanks. They've also been useful to protesters and freedom fighters across many conflicts. But slings actually continue to kill people in Peru to this day. Slinging is a popular hobby in some parts of Peru. And there is even a ritual battle in Cusco in which locals battle each other with slings. The goal is to shed blood to bestow fertility upon the land. They actually do throw real rocks at each other leading to injuries and occasional fatalities. That is some incredible dedication to their heritage of slinging. And after learning about the sling for myself, I get why. It is seriously addicting and I will be carrying one with me everywhere I go now, especially in the wilderness when I don't care to bring a firearm.

But there's another weapon that carried humanity through the Ice Age and all the way to the Aztec Empire. You'll have to watch this video to learn more and also subscribe and get this video to 100,000 likes.