You thought the grenade was a weapon invented in modern history? It seems that is not the case! The pomegranate could have been invented a long time ago, in Jerusalem, at the time of the Crusades.
Homemade grenades to surprise the Crusaders?
Indeed, this is what emerges froma recent study, after the analysis of ceramic containers and vases, conducted by a team from Griffith University. The researchers analyzed those containers that contained traces of scented oilssome contained only oil or medicine.
By pushing the research, the specialists were able to highlight traces of explosive residues in these vases discovered in Jerusalem and dated between the 11th and 12th centuries, at the time of the Crusades. This discovery suggests that it could be explosive grenades.
Researchers think that those who lived in this region of the world could have made homemade grenades to fight against the crusaders, during the Crusades. Of course, these homemade weapons were not intended to decimate the invaders of the time but simply to surprise them by producing lightning and explosions.
homemade pomegranates
Carney Matheson, who conducted the study, said that this kind of object had already been highlighted before. These colleagues then thought that these containers contained black powder. However, with this new study, it is not so! Gunpowder was not introduced to Europe until the 13th century. Here in the Middle East it would be a “explosive material” home made. The ceramic would have been sealed with resin.
It now remains for researchers and historians to unravel their mystery to find out how these explosives actually worked. At present, the oldest evidence of the existence ofa pomegranate dates back to 1044, in China, during the Song dynasty. A military book described various firearms including a prototype of modern hand grenades.