Bolaño

Stone Cannonball called a Bolaño

Location: ZORITA DE LOS CANES — SPAIN

Origin: Multiple Cannonballs have appeared during excavations at the castle including a significant number in the dungeons as well as embedded in walls near recent excavations. Pictured is a small bullet called a "pasavolante." It was found inside the cistern at Zorita Castle.

Significance: Called a "Bolaño", stone cannonballs were fired from a bombarda (a type of medieval cannon). Muslims introduced gunpowder in Spain in the XI century but it was not until the XIVth century that artillery and gunpowder become prevalent in sieges.

Large bombardas (pictured below) could weight up to 6 tons. The projectiles fired from these cannons were very diverse, weighing from 5 to 150 kilograms and consisting of stone and later iron. A bombardas maximum range was roughly 1300 meters, but the effective range was only 100 to 200 meters.