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It seems chronologically plausible that Chinese grenade making found it's way to the Middle East by then. But I think the subtitle of the article overstates th
by robonerd 4y ago
It seems chronologically plausible that Chinese grenade making found it's way to the Middle East by then. But I think the subtitle of the article overstates the case: "Residue analysis suggests it was a grenade but can't completely rule out other uses."
The rest of the article says they found residue that might have been explosives, but might also have been medicine, perfume, or some other sort of oily substance. The article says they examined a few different fragments and concluded those those were likely not explosives. The size, shape, thickness and unadorned nature of fragment #737 seems like the strongest evidence of it being a grenade while the chemical analysis seems inconclusive, contrary to the subtitle.
> "Matheson et al. noted that this suggests plant oils, glycerol, and animal fats, consistent with the vessel being used to hold oils, perfumes, or medicines and as a fuel source for a weapon or a lamp. It may have had multiple uses, but the authors think the possibility it was used as a grenade is worth serious consideration."
- sophacles 4y ago> while the chemical analysis seems inconclusive, contrary to the subtitle Inconclusive and suggests are not incompatible words. In fact, the subtitle provides a great answer to "what does inconclusive mean?".
- OJFord 4y agoIt is/can be used quite weasel-wordily though: 'this strong correlation cannot rule out causation' to put it in its most obvious.
- robonerd 4y agoIt's not really about the word 'suggest'; the subtitle touts the chemical analysis, but the stronger evidence seems to be the structural analysis. They analyzed several shards found in the same area. They found traces of sulfur, mercury, and oil on several of them. Most of them are concluded to be some sort of medical or perfume containers, because they're fancy. One of the shards is plain and thick. That's the one they think could have been a grenade, because it's plain and thick like ceramic grenades were.
- deleted 4y ago[deleted]