Artillery [encyclopaedia entry]

Ancient mechanized military equipment designed to shoot projectiles, usually bolts or stones, at a velocity and over a distance a soldier could not have manually achieved, is categorized using the modern term “artillery” (Marsden 1969: 1–2). Artillery was used in siege warfare, field operations, and naval warfare. There were two broad types of artillery in the ancient world. “Tension artillery” derived its propulsive power from a bow-shaped composite structure. “Torsion artillery” relied on the propulsive power of torsion springs fashioned from hair or sinew.2 page(s