Ближний Восток и его соседи

g 167 h Archaeological Evidence for Mamlūk Archery 14. An earlier but equally remarkable and as yet even less well-known hoard of military equipment was found in one of the southern towers of the Citadel of Damascus (in location T4). It contained these pieces of carefully shaped wood which may have been unfinished core elements for unfinished composite hand bows. Only one fragment of organic material from this T4 hoard has so far been subject to a radiocarbon dating test (unfortunately not from the archery equipment) and it indicated a 13th century late Ayyūbid or early Mamlūk origin; a date consistent with most other aspects of the mate- rial. Such a relatively early date would also be consistent with the fact that some of the wooden core elements seen here are from an earlier, angled form of composite bow which may already have been regarded as old fashioned by the 13th century. Although clearly used on horseback by many peoples for many centuries, the angled form may have more suitable for infantry combat. Perhaps the fact that these presumed core ele- ments were cast aside and never completed reflected a continuing decline in the impor- tance of infantry archery within the Mamlūk Sultanate. Perhaps such angled bows were being phased out in favour of crossbows in siege and naval warfare where combat on foot remained central. (Syrian Department of Antiquities; author’s photograph).