Using drawings from da Vinci, MIT students successfully built a functional steam cannon. A cannon could have been heated by sun-focusing mirrors, while the projectiles would have been hollow and filled with an incendiary fluid that was likely a mixture of sulphur, bitumen, pitch and calcium oxide. Steam cannonĪccording to both Plutarch and Leonardo da Vinci, Archimedes invented a steam-powered device that could rapidly fire projectiles. Combined with Archimedes’ catapults, the fleet was severely damaged. When the Roman Republic attacked Syracuse by night with a fleet of 60 ships, many of these machines were deployed, sinking many ships and throwing the attack into confusion. These machines were used prominently during the Second Punic War in 214BC. At one end of the beam was a large grappling hook (also known as an ‘iron hand’) which hovered by a chain and was balanced at the other end by a sliding counterweight. The claw would drop down from a city or fortification defensive wall and down upon an enemy ship, hook and hoist it up, and then drop the ship back down again, knocking it off balance and likely capsizing it. This crane-like device consisted of a jointed beam based on a rotating vertical beam or platform. The Claw of ArchimedesĪ painting of the Claw of Archimedes by Giulio Parigi. Nonetheless – it’s a pretty cool idea! 2. Furthermore, descriptions of the heat ray only emerged some 350 years later, and there is no evidence that the heat ray was ever used elsewhere, which seems unlikely if it truly was as successful as described. Other scientific investigations have concluded, however, that it would be unlikely to have been used. Modern recreations of the weapon have demonstrated mixed results regarding its effectiveness, with researchers from MIT managing to set a replica, but stationary, Roman ship alight. Many ships were reported to have been sunk this way. Many believe that during the Siege of Syracuse, during which Archimedes died, large mirrors of polished metal were used to focus the Sun’s rays onto enemy ships, thereby setting them alight. Though this weapon’s existence is debatable, ancient writings describe how an invention of Archimedes was used to destroy ships with fire. However, Plutarch was quick to state that Archimedes considered his work on weaponry as ‘ignoble and vulgar’, and there is no mention of it in the fifty scientific works he wrote. Indeed, one of his most famous quotes is, ‘Give me a lever long enough and a place to stand and I will move the world’. Archimedes’ array of inventions were described by Greek philosopher Plutarch.Īlthough the Romans took the city and Archimedes was killed, he left behind a legacy of fantastical weapons of war. These were chiefly put to the test during the Second Punic War and the Battle for Sicily in 212 BC, when the Romans laid siege to the Greek city of Syracuse. However, in addition to his inventions which were intended for building and creation, Archimedes devised weapons that must have been terrifying and seemed otherworldly to anyone who faced them in battle, such as projectile devices and powerful catapults that were capable of hurling rocks of up to 700 pounds (317 kilos). Though few details are known about his life, he is regarded as one of the leading scientists in classical antiquity, and made discoveries such as ‘Archimedes Screw’ which is still used today for crop irrigation and sewage treatment. No list of inventive ancient weapons would be complete without a few examples from the amazing mind of mathematician, physician, engineer, astronomer and inventor Archimedes of Syracuse (c.287 BC c.212 BC). Archimedes was a master of weaponryĪrchimedes directing the defences of Syracuse. They also allowed armies to effectively break through another’s defences more effectively, whether in direct battle or when besieging or breaking into a fortress or similar.įrom fire which could burn on water to a rapid-fire crossbow, these arms highlight the creativity, ingenuity and sometimes horrific imaginations of the designers of ancient war machines. However, in addition to commonly-used handheld weapons, other, lesser-known weapons of war became more detailed and deadly, and were designed to give an unexpected advantage on the battlefield. For example, the Romans’ principal arms included their versions of daggers, short swords, spears and bows for hand-to-hand, battlefield and cavalry combat. Most weapons that were used by classical or ancient civilisations will be familiar to us. Along with expert tacticians, warring empires required sophisticated weaponry to overcome the enemy, with the latter often swinging the balance between whether a battle was lost or won. Civilisations in the ancient world were characterised by political uncertainty and warfare.
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