Ближний Восток и его соседи

g 185 h Archaeological Evidence for Mamlūk Archery 56. The rear of four late Mamlūk arrow fragments from the Citadel of Damascus (CD5), seen from the side and top, plus sections through the rear shafts and nocks. (Drawings by Khaled Hamid). 57 . Cresting, or the putting of distinctive marks, patterns or colours on arrows, is an ancient practice that is found in virtually all serious “archery cultures”. The arrow frag- ments found in Montfort castle and dating from the second half of the 13th century, are more likely to have been Ayyūbid or early Mamlūk rather than Crusader. Three of the fragments shown here have painted cresting. Two (second down and lowest) have pat- terns which seem close to examples from Turco-Mongol Central Asia and the steppes, and may thus represent the survival of an earlier tradition. However, the arrow fragment in the centre may have more in common with the later medieval, late Mamlūk examples discussed below. (Adrian Boas photographs).