Ballista
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The ballista, plural ballistae or ballistas, sometimes called bolt thrower, was an ancient projectile weapon that launched either bolts or stones at a distant target.
Reconstructed small Roman ballista
![One talent ballista (26 kg [57 lb] weight projectile) was typical for Roman era ballista. The heaviest version ever made was built by Archimedes, and](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/68/Bal_BBC1.jpg/500px-Bal_BBC1.jpg)
One talent ballista (26 kg [57 lb] weight projectile) was typical for Roman era ballista. The heaviest version ever made was built by Archimedes, and used stones up to three talents (78 kg [172 lb]).
Roman 'catapult-nest' on Trajan's Column
Ballista bolt heads
Springald
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A springald, or espringal, was a torsion siege engine device for throwing bolts in medieval times. It is depicted in a diagram in an 11th-century Byzantine manuscript, but in Western Europe is more ev
Ballista
…these complex machines became very scarce, so the ballista was likely supplanted initially by the simpler and cheaper onager and the more efficient springald. However, while it remained less and less popular as more efficient siege engines such as the trebuchet and the mangonel became widespread, the Ballista…
Modern reconstruction of a torsion springald, the twisted skeins powering the inward projecting bow arms can be seen. Displayed at the Tower of London