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Killing from a distance

Slings, spears, bow and arrow, torsion artillery, ... these are all techniques to kill the enemy from a distance. Balearic slingers and Scythian archers were hired as auxiliary troops in the Roman legions. These experts were notorious for their accuracy.

The sling is a simple weapon, but in the hands of an experienced slinger it becomes a genuine killer.

 

Biconical sling bullets have good ballistic properties and were made of lead, clay or bronze.

 

Finger bullets have been found in the Roman fort of Velsen (the Netherlands). In heat of the fight and desperate for sling ammunition, the slingers made holes in the ground with their fingers and poured the liquid lead into these holes.

The composite bow (also referred to as the compound bow) combines the properties of different materials: wood, horn and tendon. This makes this bow more flexible and gives it more shooting power.

 

Composite material is certainly not a modern invention, and the bow was not the only application.

Tribuli (singular: tribulus) were thrown on the ground, after which an unwary foot or hoof got pierced.

 

Such tribuli have been found in Alesia (France), where Julius Caesar defeated the Gauls in a decisive battle.

This technical drawing shows a ballista. The ballista was a torsion machine that shot stone balls.

 

Ancient drawing techniques sometimes combined multiple perspectives into one drawing. This drawing integrates two perspectives:

  • a top view in two dimensions
  • a rear view in three dimensions

 

Vitruvius refers to this drawing technique as ‘scenographia’.

Scale model of a stone thrower or ballista.

 

This ancient high-tech technology is one of the best documented technical achievements of the ancient world:

  • manuscripts about the design by Philon (3rd century BC), Vitruvius (25 BC) and Heron (1st century AD)
  • manuscripts on the application by Arrian (1st century AD), Flavius ​​Josephus (1st century AD), Ammianus Marcellinus (4th century AD), ...
  • depictions on tombs and on Trajan's Column
  • archaeological finds spread over the former Roman Empire