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Ballistic Technologies of Antiquity
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Torsion and Tension Catapult Plans CD


This CD includes plans for a variety of torsion and tension catapults and more! Including:

The Greek BallistaThis model is 41 inches long, 24 inches wide and stands 31 inches tall. The ballista uses a pair of skeins (bundles of twisted rope) for power. Similar to the working of a crossbow, the Ballista actually preceded the crossbow in western culture by over a thousand years.

The Mighty Roman OnagerAlso known as a Mangonel, this model is 16" long, 12" high and 8" wide. This historically accurate, compact and portable catapult uses the exact same principles as the ancient Roman war machines.
Petraria ArcatinusPowered by a steel bow, this is the catapult you've seen in ancient drawings and Hollywood movies, but with a difference... This one really works! This model is 18 inches long and 10 inches wide. The arm reaches 18 inches high at rest.
Scorpion IIThe completed model is 18 inches long and 9 inches wide. The arm is 28 inches long. The Scorpion II main fulcrum is attached to an aluminum linkage for smoother action and a more dynamic arm tip movement.

And the new Rat-trap Spoon-a-pult!
Designed to be easy to build using simple household items and common tools like pliers and a hammer, and using a Rat Trap for power (available at most hardware stores). Great for school science experiments!

This disk also includes these additional manuscripts:
  • Historical conjecture on the Petraria concept
  • Useful information on scaling
  • Safety notes on working with wood
  • and more!

Tools you will need:
For all projects (except for the rat-trap model) you will need a table saw, drill press, screwdrivers, carpenter's square, scissors, needle-nose pliers (for the petraria) and if you have a router, that would be useful too. But these can be made without a router.


BONUS MATERIAL!
Our two highly popular e-books are also included:
The Projectile Throwing Engines of the Ancients, By Sir Ralph Payne-Gallwey
And
Catapult Design, Construction and Competition. By Dr. Bernard F. Barcio

$29.95
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    Price: $29.95
    Our Price: $8.95
    Minimum age: 8
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    Item code: 99014


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Definitions

Catapult

A catapult is any kind of device that shoots or launches a projectile by mechanical means. In England, a catapult is what we call a slingshot in the US. A catapult is also the part of an aircraft carrier that launches airplanes off the deck.

But for our purposes, a catapult is any of the ancient types of artillery, including Onagers, Scorpions, Trebuchets, Ballistae, Springalds, Coullards, Bricoles Perriers and more.

But most people tend to think of a catapult as the one-armed torsion machine used by the Romans. This is also known as the Onager or Mangonel.

Mangonel

The word Mangonel derives from the ancient Greek word "Manganon", literally meaning "engine of war". The Romans called it a Manganum. In pre-medieval French the word Manganum was changed to Manganeau, and the English changed that to Mangonel in the 1300s.

The history gets a little sketchy in the middle ages, but some historians believe that "mangonel" was shortened to the word "gonnel" about the same time that cannons were being developed, and later still, "gonnel" was shortened to "gun." And still today, in the military a "gun" is strictly a piece of big artillery.

Onager

Onager is originally the name for the wild Asian donkey. This donkey bucks like a bronco if anyone gets too close to it, and it is known to kick stones at people and predators too. So when the Romans needed a name for their one-armed torsion catapult, they called it the Onager!

The Onager (catapult) has a single arm that is powered by a large skein of twisted ropes. The ropes were usually made from hair or sinew for their elastic properties.

Trebuchet

The word "Trebuchet" is originally French, and meant something like "to fall over or rotate about the middle" as in a see-saw rotating on its axle. It also seems to have meant a big, heavy beam. Today a Trebuchet is any kind of catapult that is powered by a massive counterweight on one end of an arm, and a sling on the other end. This includes Perriers, or "traction" trebuchets which are powered by a mass of people pulling one end of the arm with ropes.

Ballista

This is a two-armed torsion device invented by the Greeks. It works similar to a crossbow, but instead of a flexible bow, it uses two stiff arms powered by twisted rope skeins like an Onager. The ballista predates the Onager by several centuries and was used to hurl stones (lithobolos style ballista) and also bolts or darts.

Obviously, this is where we get the word "ballistic".