- published: 09 Apr 2010
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An arrow is a shafted projectile that is shot with a bow. It predates recorded history and is common to most cultures. An arrow usually consists of a shaft with an arrowhead attached to the front end, with fletchings and a nock at the other.
The oldest evidence of stone-tipped projectiles, which may or may not have been propelled by a bow (c.f. atlatl), dating to c. 64,000 years ago, were found in Sibudu Cave, South Africa. The oldest evidence of the use of bows to shoot arrows dates to about 10,000 years ago; it is based on pinewood arrows found in the Ahrensburg valley north of Hamburg. They had shallow grooves on the base, indicating that they were shot from a bow. The oldest bow so far recovered is about 8,000 years old, found in the Holmegård swamp in Denmark. Archery seems to have arrived in the Americas with the Arctic small tool tradition, about 4,500 years ago.
Arrow sizes vary greatly across cultures, ranging from eighteen inches to five feet (45 cm to 150 cm). However, most modern arrows are 75 centimetres (30 in) to 96 centimetres (38 in); most war arrows from an English ship sunk in 1545 were 76 centimetres (30 in). Very short arrows have been used, shot through a guide attached either to the bow (an "overdraw") or to the archer's wrist (the Turkish "siper"). These may fly farther than heavier arrows, and an enemy without suitable equipment may find himself unable to return them.
Stained by the wine
A celebration guilt in ordinary time
Profaneness enshrine, the abode of the blessed
Abode of the blessed
And we shall be the bearers
Of the untainted darkness
That descends for all time
Let Mary sleep forever
Sordid dreams, she must be bound
Once faithful followers scream
"Set Barabbas free!"
The chilling chants of the carcass choir
Rosaries inverted and strung upon the razor wire
Scream out, and proudly wear the mark
We, the bearers of the untainted dark
So stain the cloth forever
Sordid dreams of lust be bound
Commence the ceremony