For the discerning collector (with a really big display room!)

Do you need to round out your historical weapons collection? If so, there's an item on eBay that's right up your alley - a reproduction Roman ballista, or siege catapult.




It was built for the BBC/Discovery Channel program, 'Building The Impossible'. The company that built it notes on their Web site:

The project was not without its challenges. Although records exist of the ballista, there are no designs – only descriptions. In Roman texts, it was reputed to have thrown stone balls up to 400 yards – though it has since been found in Greek texts that the figure was more likely to be closer to 100 yards.

It’s tempting to think that, because the Romans did not have access to modern materials, the ballista could be improved upon. But the Roman’s choice of materials proved impossible to match – for instance, the throwing ropes were made of animal sinew. Modern ropes – even high-tech materials – proved to be far less effective – and of course the team rebuilding the ballista had to ‘make do’ with these newer ropes.

The replica ballista's modern timbers clearly weren't as strong as the Roman originals, as it cracked after two shots. The sales blurb on the eBay listing advises:

Condition

The ballista is unassembled in one of our timber yards, and requires a bit of restoration work. The timbers are now ‘seasoned’ – a slivery grey that oak goes when exposed to the sun – rather than being new, but this just adds to its authenticity. It will not fire again, but will make an excellent demonstration piece.

The good news

We will undertake the essential repairs needed so that the ballista will again be a formidable, full-size and accurate recreation of an early war machine – albeit one that would not fire. Our work will bring it back to display condition – but it could be brought back to a firing condition, with the right people involved and an additional investment.

Why would you want one?

• The ballista could be an excellent and unique tourist attraction for a wide range of public venues.
• It is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to own a unique recreation of a Roman war machine.
• If you have aspirations to overthrow a neighbour’s castle, the ballista isn’t ideal, as even though it is potentially capable of throwing a stone ball over 100 yards, it is now not in firing condition. (Please note that even if it were, you would need a team of several skilled operators in order to do this, and these are very hard to find today. You may also find that advances in weaponry since this was designed place you at a considerable disadvantage on the modern battlefield.)

Er . . . that last point's a good one! I reckon I could pick off the crew of that ballista with my deer rifle while they were still winding it up. Gunpowder and rifled weapons have their advantages!

The TV program showing the ballista's construction is available on YouTube in five episodes. Click on the links to see them: Part One, Part Two, Part Three and Part Four. The fifth part, showing the ballista being fired, is embedded below.





Looks like a lot of fun! Unfortunately, it's a bit too expensive for my wallet. Besides, getting a twelve-ton pre-medieval war machine into my back yard might be tricky . . . to say nothing of what the next hurricane might do to it!



Peter