Dvurechenskaya N.D., Dvurechensky O.V.
Key words: clay projectiles, weight and size characteristics, Kampyr-Tepe, Northern Bactria, Hellenistic and Kushan times.
The fortress of Kampyr-Tepe in Uzbekistan is an outstanding archaeological site from the Hellenistic and Kushan times on the territory of Northern Bactria. The authors have weighed and measured 106 clay projectiles of the 256 whole and fragmented sling and catapult projectiles that were found at the site, and have identified three groups according to weight and size. The sling as a mass projectile weapon is known in Central Asia starting from the middle of the 1st millennium BC. The fact that series of sling projectiles are not encountered in strata at Kampyr-Tepe after the 2nd c. BC is not a general regularity. However, the authors believe that the sling could have become a less popular weapon due to the spreading of the Hun bow which was brought to the territory of Bactria by Yuezhi tribes.