3rd-1st century BC. An ovoid lead slingshot from bivalve mould inscribed on two faces with the name '???C??', possibly for Erostates. See similar types in Schinco, G., Small, A.M., 'A previously unknown siege of Brotomagno/Silvium: the evidence of slingshots from Gravina in Puglia (provincia di Bari, Puglia),' in Papers of the British School at Rome, 2019, pp.1-52, figs.32, 36. 27.7 grams, 26mm (1"). Property of a Hertfordshire lady; by inheritance; ex David Miller collection. It is well known that the Balearic slingers were an important component of the Carthaginian army during the Second Punic War, and that after they were widely used by the Romans in all their wars, including during the Imperial period. There are also a group of lead bullets inscribed in Greek which were probably used in conflicts like the Second Punic War by the south-Italian Greek slingers. This slingshot belongs to the type Ia of Volling classification. [No Reserve] Condition Report Fair condition.