Arrowhead

This bronze arrowhead is shaped like a leaf and it has a long tang. 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.

The excavations at Shahr-i Qumis by the British Institute of Persian Studies in 1967 were co-sponsored by the Metropolitan Museum of Art. However, this arrowhead was not discovered until 1971, and it was acquired from the British Institute as a result of the Met’s financial contributions to the Institute’s excavations at Tepe Nush-i Jan, another site in Iran. At the time the Iranian government allowed foreign excavators to keep a portion of the finds, and these excavators in turn would divide their share among the institutions that supported the work.