Catapulta

A catapult was a Roman machine for throwing arrows and javelins,^[1]^[2] 12 feet (3.7 m) or 15 feet (4.6 m) long, at the enemy. The name comes from the Greek katapeltes (καταπέλτης), because it could pierce or 'go through' (kata) shields (peltas). The design was probably inherited, along with the ballista, from Greek armies. Some versions of the catapulta were portable. Smaller two-armed versions of the catapulta were known as scorpiones.^[3]^[4] The catapulta was made of wood and were placed on stands.^[5]

References

^ Pitassi, Michael (2010). The Navies of Rome. Boydell & Brewer. p. 18. ISBN 978-1-84383-600-1.
^ Catapult Design, Construction and Competition with the Projectile Throwing Engines of the Ancients. RLT Industries. 2006. p. 55. ISBN 978-0-9776497-0-9.
^ Adkins, Lesley; Adkins, Roy A.; Adkins, Both Professional Archaeologists Roy A. (2014-05-14). Handbook to Life in Ancient Rome. Infobase Publishing. p. 92. ISBN 978-0-8160-7482-2.
^ Southern, Pat (2007-10-01). The Roman Army: A Social and Institutional History. Oxford University Press. p. 214. ISBN 978-0-19-804401-7.
^ Corbishley, Mike (2004). Illustrated Encyclopedia of Ancient Rome. Getty Publications. p. 20. ISBN 978-0-89236-705-4.

Sources

This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chambers, Ephraim, ed. (1728). "Catapulta". Cyclopædia, or an Universal Dictionary of Arts and Sciences (1st ed.). James and John Knapton, et al.

Greek and Roman artillery

External links

Legion XXIV Catapulta, Features a detailed working reconstruction of a three-man catapulta.

v t e Ancient mechanical artillery and hand-held missile weapons
Generic terms	Greek and Roman artillery Torsion siege engine
Crew-served arrow-throwers	Ballista Carroballista Catapulta Oxybeles Oyumi Polybolos Scorpio
Crew-served stone-throwers	Catapult Lithobolos Mangonel Onager Trebuchet
Hand-held weapons	Bow Cheiroballistra Crossbow Gastraphetes Javelin Kestros Mesangylon Repeating crossbow Sling Spear-thrower