Sphero-conical gourd

This sphero-conical piece, with its small, thick-lipped neck and tiny opening is part of a large group of specimens, most of which are made of refractory clay. There also exists a number of glazed ceramic[1]  and glass items.[2]

Archaeologists specialising in the Ayyubid and Mameluke periods have long been puzzled by the function and use of these objects. Several theories have been put forward: they are shepherd's lamps, containers for showering attackers with burning naphtha, temperature regulators for pottery kilns, and – in the light of the inscriptions – beer bottles. They may, in fact, have served a number of purposes, but the military hypothesis is the most widely held, given that so many examples have been found in fortresses and their surrounding moats. This interpretation is backed up by an Arabic source, the historian Tarsusi's Tabsirat arbab al-Bab. Written for Saladin in 1187, this treatise on weaponry outlines the making of the contents, but without giving any details regarding the container except that it is made of terracotta. It does, however, mention that the objects in question were launched from catapults and possessed considerable firepower; they could also be thrown by hand from the ramparts, so as to burn attackers or drive them away.

This kind of weapon would seem to have been used by the Ayyubids during the siege of Raqqa in 1189, burning some of the towers together with the troops inside them. A number of gourds bear the names of their makers, notably a certain Ibn Arrif al-Dimashqi.

They were variable in size and had specific military names. The most famous, called the Ram, was made of glass or terracotta and dates from before the Crusades in Egypt, Jordan, Palestine and Syria.

Regarding the contents, scientific analysis has revealed residues of rock salt, resins and other flammable products. Military documents from the 12th and 14th centuries contain numerous descriptions of the gourds themselves: in al-Furusiyya wal manasib al-harbiyya (The Book of Military Horsemanship and Ingenious War Devices), al-Hasan al-Ramah (d. 1294), who taught military science in Syria, provides illustrations of the objects together with descriptions of their use in war and different ways of launching them.

These incendiary devices have also been uncovered on sites in several parts of the Arab world, where they were used to defend fortified castles against the Crusaders. The museum in the castle of Ajlun possesses a number of gourds, brought to light in 1982 by the Archaeology Department of Jordan in the Rabdaya quarter. As the region hardest hit by the Crusades – and then by the Mongols – Greater Syria is the richest source, with notable finds at Hama, and at Balis-Meskeneh on the Euphrates, where they were accompanied by dedicated kilns. A substantial collection on show at the museum in Damascus includes a projectile inscribed with drawings of prisoners of war, the maker's name and advice to the user: "This kind of projectile is useful for targeting the enemy." The Museum of Islamic Art in Cairo also has some of these objects, found at Fustat.

In addition the outside of the projectiles has relief adornment which, as well as being decorative, allowed for easier handling and greater stability within the catapult. Some of them are also marked with their place of origin, the maker's name, blessings, invocations and the names of God.

[2] Glass receptacle bearing the name of a sultan of Yeman, Paris, Musée du Louvre, OA 7448.