Ancient Siege Engines
about the city ; the number of the engines was in all a hundred and
sixty. . . . At the same time such engines as were intended for that purpose,
threw their spears buzzing forth, and stones of the weight of a talent
were thrown by the engines that were prepared for doing so….
' But still Josephus and those with him, although they fell down dead
one upon another by the darts and stones which the engines threw upon them,
did not desert the wall. . . . The engines could not be seen at a great
distance and so what was thrown by them was hard to be avoided ; for the
force with which these engines threw stones and darts made them wound several
at a time, and the violence of the stones that were cast by the engines
was so great that they carried away the pinnacles of the wall and broke
off the corners of the towers ; for no body of men could be so strong as
not to be overthrown to the last rank by the largeness of the stones. .
. . The noise of the instruments themselves was very terrible, the sound
of the darts and stones that were thrown by them was so also ; of the same
sort was that noise the dead bodies made when they were dashed against
the wall.'
(2) Wars of the Jews, Book V., Chapter VI. - The siege of Jerusalem,
A.D. 70. ' The engines that all the legions had ready prepared for them
were admirably contrived ; but still more extraordinary ones belonged to
the tenth legion : those that threw darts and those that threw stones were
more forcible and larger than the rest, by which they not only repelled
the excursions of the Jews but drove those away who were upon the walls
also. Now the stones that were cast were of the weight of a talent l
and were carried two or more stades.2
' The blow they gave was no way to be sustained, not only by those who
stood first in the way but by those who were beyond them for a great space.
'As for the Jews, they at first watched the coming of the stone for
it was of a white colour, and could therefore not only be perceived by
the great noise it made but could be seen also before it came by its brightness
; accordingly the watchmen that sat upon the towers gave notice when an
engine was let go ... so those that were in its way stood off and threw
themselves down upon the ground. But the Romans contrived how to prevent
this by blacking the stone ; they could then aim with success when the
stone was not discerned beforehand, as it had been previously.'
The accounts given by Josephus are direct and trustworthy evidence,
for the reason that this chronicler relates what he personally witnessed
during the sieges he describes, in one of which (Jotapata), he acted the
part of a brave and resourceful commander.
Tacitus in describing a battle fought near Cremona between the armies
1 57 3/4 Lbs. (avoirdupois).
2 Two stades would be 404 yards ; the measure
of a stade is 6o6 3/4 English feet. |