Stone slingshots from the Adzhiel I settlement in the context of the military and political history of the Bosporan Kingdom in the 1st century BC – 1st century AD

The article examines stone slingshots found during archaeological excavations of the Adzhiel I settlement in Eastern Crimea. The settlement, dating from the 1^st century BC to the early 2^nd century AD, is located in the Crimean Azov region, on the plateau-like surface of the steep cape of the Adzhiel ravine, in the northern section of the Uzunlar defensive line. The slingshots were classified by their materials and weight. According to the authors, the discovery of the slingshots in a single location and within a single cultural layer clearly indicates their military use. This is supported by the fact that directly beneath the cliff atop which the Adzhiel I settlement was located, a road ran through the second pass in the Uzunlar Valley, and possibly the only bridge in the immediate area over the Adzhiel River was operational. Considering the location of this ancient road, which was supposed to be controlled by the Adzhiel I garrison, as well as the area on the edge of the plateau where the slingshots were discovered, only the use of a slingshot could have forced the fort's soldiers to take cover behind the walls and allowed the enemy army to advance from the west without losses and cross the river and the Adzhiel ravine. If we are talking about such military actions, then this was connected with the Adzhiel I settlement, and could have been the military actions waged here by the Roman protégé Polemon I of Pontus against the Bosporans in the middle of the last quarter of the first century BC. However, it is more likely that these events were connected with the defeat of the border fortifications by the Romans during the Bosporan-Roman War of 45–49 BC.