Arrowhead
Not on view
This bronze arrowhead is shaped like a leaf. It has a long tang and is bent, presumably from use. It was discovered on the surface at Shahr-i Qumis in northern Iran, which has been identified as the ancient city of Hecatompylos, established by the Parthians as their capital by about 200 B.C. In Greek Hecatompylos means ‘a hundred gates,’ suggesting that the city was quite large. Indeed, the modern archaeological site includes several mounds, only a few of which have been excavated, and a vast area covered with potsherds. The Parthians were famed in antiquity as archers, and gave their name to the ‘Parthian shot,’ a tactic in which a mounted archer rides away from his enemy while firing arrows at him.
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