Cheiroballistra Parts

[Crispvs]

Just a small note here. I've used Len Morgan and Alan Wilkins' reconstruction of the keirobalistra/manubalista many times and can confirm that it is definitely man portable and efficient to use, and as it can easily be carried some distance by some members of my group I have no doubt that genuine Roman soldiers (who were a lot tougher than any of us) would have found it no trouble to use and move quickly in the field. We have done range tests on it and achieved a distance of 232 metres and have measured the draw weight at 732bl at full draw. Alan (who really does know his stuff when it comes to ancient artillery) points out that to get an effective range a machine must be of a certain size and while Aitor's reconstructed machine is definitely easily portable I would be very interested to know whether it can achieve the same power. As far as I am concerned this is one of the most important tests of the various theories. I am quite satisfied that Iriate, Wilkins, Baatz et al have all studied the surviving manuscripts in great detail and I really don't think any one of them is in a position to snub the scholarship of the others. Let us test the performance and see which seem best to do what an artillery piece is intended to do.<br>
Alus, could you point out to me the "various areas" of Alan's work that are wrong?<br>
BTW Lucius, Len Morgan is quite happy to ship parts to anywhere in the world you care to mention.<br>
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Crispvs <p></p><i></i>