Anyone seen this new show? Interesting stuff.

Last one I watched they recreated a Roman torsion spring catapult

It was over eight metres high & could fire boulders weighing twenty-six
kilos.

Thing that rung alarm bells with me was the range. They started off saying
it would work at 400 or so metres, then part way through they 'discovered'
the real range in Roman times was about 100 metres - which they more or less
achieved.

Not entirely sure this is practical. I know medieval trebuchets had enough
range to stay out of extreme bowshot. At 100 metres the Romans would have
been easily inside the killing range of a medieval longbow.

Not sure about the range of a composite bow, but surely over 100 metres?
Would the Romans have been able to use a catapult in an arrowstorm?

Or did they fudge the figures?

Dave

david lang wrote:
Anyone seen this new show? Interesting stuff.

Last one I watched they recreated a Roman torsion spring catapult

It was over eight metres high & could fire boulders weighing
twenty-six kilos.

Thing that rung alarm bells with me was the range. They started off
saying it would work at 400 or so metres, then part way through they
'discovered' the real range in Roman times was about 100 metres -
which they more or less achieved.

Not entirely sure this is practical. I know medieval trebuchets had
enough range to stay out of extreme bowshot. At 100 metres the
Romans would have been easily inside the killing range of a medieval
longbow.

Not sure about the range of a composite bow, but surely over 100
metres? Would the Romans have been able to use a catapult in an
arrowstorm?

Or did they fudge the figures?

Dave

This should be in the...

Steam powered cars thread.
--
Sir Benjamin Middlethwaite

david lang wrote:
Anyone seen this new show? Interesting stuff.

Last one I watched they recreated a Roman torsion spring catapult

It was over eight metres high & could fire boulders weighing twenty-six
kilos.

Thing that rung alarm bells with me was the range. They started off saying
it would work at 400 or so metres, then part way through they 'discovered'
the real range in Roman times was about 100 metres - which they more or less
achieved.

Not entirely sure this is practical. I know medieval trebuchets had enough
range to stay out of extreme bowshot. At 100 metres the Romans would have
been easily inside the killing range of a medieval longbow.

Not sure about the range of a composite bow, but surely over 100 metres?

Dunno, but weren't medieval longbows exceptionally long-ranged
(Agincourt, and all that?).

I didn't see the programme, but I saw a similar toy in action last
summer on a day out at Warwick Castle, where they've built a trebuchet -
fascinating.
http://www.warwicksiege.com/warwick_trebuchet.asp

David

"david lang" wrote in message
.. .
Anyone seen this new show? Interesting stuff.

Last one I watched they recreated a Roman torsion spring catapult
Not entirely sure this is practical. I know medieval trebuchets had
enough
range to stay out of extreme bowshot. At 100 metres the Romans would have
been easily inside the killing range of a medieval longbow.

I don't think Medieval and Romans quite fit together..

Paul Andrews wrote:
"david lang" wrote in message
.. .

Anyone seen this new show? Interesting stuff.


Last one I watched they recreated a Roman torsion spring catapult
Not entirely sure this is practical. I know medieval trebuchets had

enough

range to stay out of extreme bowshot. At 100 metres the Romans would have
been easily inside the killing range of a medieval longbow.


I don't think Medieval and Romans quite fit together..


Hehehe, I too was somewhat confused with the timeline.

Paul Andrews wrote:

I don't think Medieval and Romans quite fit together..

I did carry to say that I wasn't familiar with the range of a composite bow
(the kind used in Roman times). I'm assuming an effective range for a
composite bow of over 100 metres. The medieval longbow (or the archer
behind it) had a killing range of around 400 metres.

Dave

Quick Google reveals that the Roman style composite bow had a similar range
to the medieval longbow.

So, did the Romans use these catapults at 100 metres and somehow survive the
arrows, or could it have been used at 400 metres and the TV show faked the
figures to make good TV?

Dave

In article
david lang wrote:
Anyone seen this new show? Interesting stuff.

Last one I watched they recreated a Roman torsion spring catapult

It was over eight metres high & could fire boulders weighing twenty-six
kilos.

Thing that rung alarm bells with me was the range. They started off saying
it would work at 400 or so metres, then part way through they 'discovered'
the real range in Roman times was about 100 metres - which they more or less
achieved.

Not entirely sure this is practical. I know medieval trebuchets had enough
range to stay out of extreme bowshot. At 100 metres the Romans would have
been easily inside the killing range of a medieval longbow.

I believe ancient Greek bows had a range of 200-250m.

Not sure about the range of a composite bow, but surely over 100 metres?

Possibly as much as 350m from what I can find.

Would the Romans have been able to use a catapult in an arrowstorm?

Or did they fudge the figures?

I reckon. Apart from the fact that they didn't really think the design
through (hence the problems with the trigger mechanism and the
tensioning mechanism) they didn't look hard enough for a suitable
replacement for the sinew "springs". It was only after they started
having problems with the synthetic rope that we saw anyone mention (was
it really that long before they realised?) that a sinew spring would
have pretensioned itself by drying out - they had to pre-tension the
springs by winding them up, which resulted in lack of performance and
self-destruction. I think the tension adjustment might only have been
used to fine-tune the bow - as soon as you wind it up much the mechanics
goes wrong. If it had been me I'd have favoured springs that performed
more like the originals, despite the cost to "authenticity" of using
modern steel or some other substitute. I wonder what I could do in the
back garden with the front suspension off a Morris Marina :-)

"david lang" wrote in message
news:Bl4yf.659

Or did they fudge the figures?

As soon as they got the first test shots in the 'lab' they suddenly decided
the translations must be wrong ... I think they just fudged the figures ...

Having been involved with couple of diy & SelfBuild shows, they never let
facts get in the way of Television.

Rick

"david lang" wrote in message
.. .
Paul Andrews wrote:

I don't think Medieval and Romans quite fit together..

I did carry to say that I wasn't familiar with the range of a composite
bow (the kind used in Roman times). I'm assuming an effective range for a
composite bow of over 100 metres. The medieval longbow (or the archer
behind it) had a killing range of around 400 metres.


The bows in Roman times would not be close to the range of an English long
bow ...but still would have reached 100m, probably relying on gravity to
provide the penetration at range, aiming high and hoping arrows fell down on
foes.
Horizontal shots going through armour were not a reality .. unless you are
in a Hollywood film.

Rick Hughes wrote:

Having been involved with couple of diy & SelfBuild shows, they never let
facts get in the way of Television.

Don't just leave us in suspense ....

Chris
--
Chris J Dixon Nottingham UK


Have dancing shoes, will ceilidh.

david lang wrote:
Anyone seen this new show? Interesting stuff.

Last one I watched they recreated a Roman torsion spring catapult

It was over eight metres high & could fire boulders weighing twenty-six
kilos.

Thing that rung alarm bells with me was the range. They started off saying
it would work at 400 or so metres, then part way through they 'discovered'
the real range in Roman times was about 100 metres - which they more or less
achieved.

Not entirely sure this is practical. I know medieval trebuchets had enough
range to stay out of extreme bowshot. At 100 metres the Romans would have
been easily inside the killing range of a medieval longbow.

Not sure about the range of a composite bow, but surely over 100 metres?
Would the Romans have been able to use a catapult in an arrowstorm?

Or did they fudge the figures?

Dave

the TV crew have no trubuchet manufacturing experience, and had only
one go. The Romans had skilled designers who had built however many. I
would assume the difference to be down to this.


NT

In message ,
Lobster wrote:

david lang wrote:
Anyone seen this new show? Interesting stuff.

Last one I watched they recreated a Roman torsion spring catapult

It was over eight metres high & could fire boulders weighing twenty-six
kilos.

Thing that rung alarm bells with me was the range. They started off saying
it would work at 400 or so metres, then part way through they 'discovered'
the real range in Roman times was about 100 metres - which they more or less
achieved.

Not entirely sure this is practical. I know medieval trebuchets had enough
range to stay out of extreme bowshot. At 100 metres the Romans would have
been easily inside the killing range of a medieval longbow.

Not sure about the range of a composite bow, but surely over 100 metres?

Dunno, but weren't medieval longbows exceptionally long-ranged
(Agincourt, and all that?).

I didn't see the programme, but I saw a similar toy in action last
summer on a day out at Warwick Castle, where they've built a trebuchet -
fascinating.
http://www.warwicksiege.com/warwick_trebuchet.asp


Caerphilly Castle has three siege engines on permanent display which are
regularly wound up and fired across the moat. Rather fun...

http://www.cadw.wales.gov.uk/default...d=6&PlaceID=39

Hwyl!

M.

--
Martin Angove: http://www.tridwr.demon.co.uk/
Making sense of technology: http://www.livtech.co.uk/
.... Modem, said the gardener when he'd finished the lawn..