Some 1600 iron arrowheads have been found to date . Since the Romans would have collected any spent arrows that they found after the battle for reuse, this number probably represents only a fraction of the arrows spent — those that were hidden by debris or vegetation, penetrated deep into the ground and escaped being corroded to powder. A look at the plan will also reveal that the majority of arrowheads were found outside the wall, implying probably that those in the city were more easily recovered.
Apart from the breach, two other concentrations of arrowheads were found. In front of the synagogue wall and around the passage just below the synagogue where some 120 were collected outside the wall, and about 50 m. north of the twin towers, where nearly 300 were found, again, outside the wall.
Aside from the standard trilobate arrowhead (with its variants) that is the most common in this period (91%), two other forms are represented: a flat type (7%) and a pyramidal type (2%). A preliminary study shows that these latter were found in three concentrations. The flat type was found near the upper entrance and in area T, near the bottom end of the wall (28 arrowheads). The pyramidal type was found in one concentration, near the breach, outside the wall (14 arrowheads). Although far from conclusive, it may be that this is evidence of auxiliary ethnic archer units (sagittarii), some of which may have used ‘traditional’ arrowheads alongside the 'standard' Roman issue. Josephus explicitly refers for example, to Arab (Nabatean) bowmen at the siege of Yodefat (War III, 7; §211) . A little over 50 arrowheads were found in the western parts of the city (areas S, R, RN), evidence of some advance of the Roman troops to these areas.
Some 100 catapult bolts were also found along the length of the wall, including two concentrations, suggesting an ‘artillery barrage’. One concentration in the breach area (63 bolts) and a smaller one near the twin towers in area M (12 bolts). Some of these found their way to the western areas of the city, some 300 m. west of the wall, underscoring the immense power of the catapults.
No such bolts were found at Masada and only a few at Yodefat though at the latter site their percentage is greater in relation to the overall number found.
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