Ближний Восток и его соседи

g 203 h Archaeological Evidence for Mamlūk Archery 99. Very little attention has yet been given to the paper from which the flights of some late Ayyūbid and Mamlūk crossbow bolts were cut. So far there is no indication that the writing on the paper had any talismanic or religious purpose. Indeed, prelimi- nary evidence from similarly shaped and sized paper fragments from Egypt, which are currently the subject of an important study and which may or may not have been intended as arrow or bolt flights, suggests that any redundant non-religious document might simply be recycled for this purpose, as for many others. The example shown here is from the 13th and early 14th century Euphrates hoard. It is particularly well preserved, and the writing remains legible. (Author’s photograph; reportedly now in the National Museum store, Doha, Qatar). 100. The paper flights which are still attached to crossbow bolts from Tower 4 of the Citadel of Damascus, dating from the second half of the 13th century or the early part of the 14th, are mostly too damaged to be legible, although the writing is often visible. (Syrian Department of Antiquities; author’s photograph).