Our new cheiroballista...

[Nerva]

Salve Clodius!

Marsden and Wilkin's research is certainly not the only scientific or published work out there and more is being conducted.

Do you know of anything recently published? I'd be very greteful for direction to any current research.

What is "scientific" about Alan's bronze locking rings. Where's the proof that they ever existed.

Two things here. Firstly your being disengenuous and dismissive of the research Alan carried out and the results of the build and trials. The locking rings we're a solution to an engineering problem. If you have an alternative suggestion then please let us know.

Counting Gornea, Orsova and Lyon there have been five iron field frames and 10 associated washers found. How many bronze locking rings?

Fair point, I can't argue with you there...

None, but to make the frames work as out-swingers they must have existed so lets conjure them up out of bronze. Never mind that being massive hunks of stable metal they should have long survived even the washers. The only logic I see there is circular, and the only "science" is alchemy. The same emperical method was used to discover the "missing" portion of the Cremona battleplate, "Because the bolt is always positioned half-way up the spring-frame". The technique has been apparently perfected to the point where one can even divine what was written on the missing part.

Now now, stop being silly, stick to the point at hand and make you argument specific.

The known iron field frames are all obviously too large to be hand-held weapons. They would need some form of base and winch. They would be better described as a carroballista than cheiroballista or manuballista.

Your probably right but Alan and Marsden would argue otherwise based on the texts.