what were the used for seige in ancient cultures?

Answer 1

The stone thrower was an artillery weapon based on the principle of the lever. The stone thrower fired a heavy missile, usually a large stone or stone wrapped in burning oily rags. The missile was placed in a large basket at the end of the throwing arm. Tension was built up on the other end of the arm while the throwing basket was held taut against a fulcrum. When released, the throwing arm swung up and forward until checked, throwing the missile. Stone throwers were used primarily against fixed positions, especially cities and fortifications. Stones were used to knock down walls to open the way for an infantry assault. Fireballs set wood rubble on fire, burning out the defenders. Small stone throwers were also used on the battlefield to disrupt massed enemy formations, although the enemy rarely offered easy targets within range. The stone thrower was invented around 400 BC by Greeks seeking to capture an island fortress off the coast of Sicily.The stone thrower continued to evolve over time following its invention around 400 BC. Improvements increased the size or range of the missile and the mobility of the catapult (how fast the weapon could be assembled).they were then known as catapults



The ballista was an early artillery weapon that fired missiles, primarily large bolts or spears. It was used in attacks on cities or fortified positions because it could cause structural damage and casualties from a great distance. When it could be deployed on a battlefield, it was especially useful against dense formations of troops. In this situation, one shot could cause multiple casualties. The ballista was invented in the second half of the first millennium BC, probably by Greek engineers. It functioned like a large crossbow. Tension was built up in the engine by twisting leather, and then released, propelling the missile down a guided trough and into flight.The Helepolis (Greek for "city killer") was one of the most advanced weapons of antiquity and a remarkable demonstration of ancient engineering ingenuity. It was in fact an automatic siege weapon that fired ballista bolts. The top loading magazine of the helepolis was a horizontal funnel in which were laid bundles of bolts. These were fed by gravity into the chamber of the weapon. A clever gearing mechanism automatically recocked the helepolis and fired. Human operators needed only to keep it loaded and aimed, plus provide power by cranking. The original of the machine was abandoned outside the city of Rhodes when a besieging army withdrew. It has been reconstructed on paper from contemporary sketches and descriptions of that only known example.

Answer 2

Many types of weapons were used in ancient times for laying "siege" to an enemy, weapons such as bows and arrows, catapults or "seige" engines for throwing stones, etc.
One of the more interesting things used for a "seige" was the use of Elephants in very ancient times. Prior to using the Elephants, they were given a mixture of wine and Myrrh which according to ancient texts would cause the Elephants to become quite aggressive. Sometimes Elephants were used to knock down doors or even structures of the enemy. Some other "tools" used against an enemy were starvation, dehydration and even fire.

Answer 3

Excerpts from Wikipedia -- go to the website and search for Siege Engines to read the whole story:

"The earliest siege engine in Europe was the battering ram, followed by the catapult in ancient Greece. The Spartans used battering rams in the siege of Plataea in 429 BC, but it seems that the Greeks limited their use of siege engines to assault ladders... though Peloponnesian forces used something resembling flamethrowers. It has recently been proposed that the Trojan Horse was not, as the legends say, a covert container for stealthy attackers, but rather a large battering ram resembling a horse.

The first Mediterranean people to use advanced siege machinery were the Carthaginians, who used siege towers and battering rams ......

The Romans preferred to assault enemy walls building earthen ramps (agger) or simply scaling the walls...

Medieval designs include the catapult, the ballista and the trebuchet. These machines used mechanical energy to fling large projectiles to batter down stone walls..."

Answer 4

The answer depends on what you define as ancient.
The Roman empire had a weapon built like a huge crossbow ( the name escapes me at the moment) and the Greeks used catapults with stone jars filled with a flamable liqued ( Greek fire) in navel warfare.

In the middle ages the same weapons were used and the catapult was improved apon by a device known as a trebuchae (spelling?) . This weapon used a counterweight to fling stone ammo at a greater distance with improved accuracy. The most effective versions had wheels on them for easier transport. The upshot ( pardon the pun ! ) was that the wheels acted as stabalizers and improved the accuracy !

Answer 5

Ancient

Answer 6

sieges were used basically for the same purpose that they are now because the forces most of the time were evenly matched the attckers tried to simply starve the defenders out rather then die uselessly on the castle walls, the occasional bombardment isnt too bad either for a couple of weeks at a time

Answer 7

In a siege, you starve or ware down your enemy into summiting to your demands, and serves the same purpose in today's military and political procedure of a blockade.