11-12-2013, 08:19 AM
Quote:Furthermore, we cannot rule out that medieval torsion catapults were not a reinvention, but a direct continuation of the ancient artillery. Isn't it strange that torsion artillery was invented twice in the Occident, whereas it remained unknown everywhere else?I have always assumed (though, as a Roman researcher, I prefer to take Ammianus Marcellinus as my end point) that the one-armed onager continued in use into medieval times, rather than having been reinvented. (However, medieval two-armed catapults -- the so-called springals or springalds -- seem to have been a poor reflection of the Roman machines, and may reflect a loss of technical knowledge.)
