DOI article:
Lemke, Martin: Stone projectiles from Novae
DOI Page / Citation link: https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.41951#0211
Martin Lemke
Warszawa
STONE PROJECTILES FROM NOVAE
Abstract: Among the military items found at Novae, there is a considerable amount of
stone projectiłes. Unfortunately, no remains of ancient roman artillery have been
discovered. Throwing machines had a long history in Roman times and from Caesar we
have learned about their broad and elastic capabilities for both offensive and defensive
warfare. At Novae 351 projectiłes were documented, most were found near the principia.
Another concentration of such finds occurred near a tower on the western defensive wali.
The projectiłes were usually madę of limestone, fewer of sandstone. Only a smali number of
the balls was fashioned in a way suitable as ammunition for a ballista or onager. The greater
part of the projectiłes stems from the late roman period and was probably thrown by hand.
Key words: Roman army, projectiłes, ballista, onager, Novae, artillery, stone balls.
Among various grottps of weaponry and armor-related finds from the
legionary fortress Novae there is also a quite impressive number of stone
projectiłes. As with most places, where such were found, no remains of the actual
machines that once hurled theses Stones have been discovered in the homebase
of the Legio I Italica. After all, Roman artillery was essentially madę of wood with
few metal elements.
Thus, knowledge in this matter is heavily based on the remaining theoretical
works by ancient authors [Baatz 1978, 1], but still the mere stone projectiłes do
provide us with some useful information regarding Novae. Data on many of the
mentioned finds is often limited though, and not all potential projectiłes madę it
into the documentation through nearly 50 years of fieldwork.
Roman artillery has had a long and successful history [a good overview:
Campbell 2003, 22f], even though not much is known about the way it was
organized. It was Caesar himself, who contributed to the popularity of those
machines in the Roman army, taking fuli advantage of artillery in his campaigns
during sieges, but also for the defense of camps. Even though the battles were not
always victorious, examples like the defense of Gergovia showed impressively
Warszawa
STONE PROJECTILES FROM NOVAE
Abstract: Among the military items found at Novae, there is a considerable amount of
stone projectiłes. Unfortunately, no remains of ancient roman artillery have been
discovered. Throwing machines had a long history in Roman times and from Caesar we
have learned about their broad and elastic capabilities for both offensive and defensive
warfare. At Novae 351 projectiłes were documented, most were found near the principia.
Another concentration of such finds occurred near a tower on the western defensive wali.
The projectiłes were usually madę of limestone, fewer of sandstone. Only a smali number of
the balls was fashioned in a way suitable as ammunition for a ballista or onager. The greater
part of the projectiłes stems from the late roman period and was probably thrown by hand.
Key words: Roman army, projectiłes, ballista, onager, Novae, artillery, stone balls.
Among various grottps of weaponry and armor-related finds from the
legionary fortress Novae there is also a quite impressive number of stone
projectiłes. As with most places, where such were found, no remains of the actual
machines that once hurled theses Stones have been discovered in the homebase
of the Legio I Italica. After all, Roman artillery was essentially madę of wood with
few metal elements.
Thus, knowledge in this matter is heavily based on the remaining theoretical
works by ancient authors [Baatz 1978, 1], but still the mere stone projectiłes do
provide us with some useful information regarding Novae. Data on many of the
mentioned finds is often limited though, and not all potential projectiłes madę it
into the documentation through nearly 50 years of fieldwork.
Roman artillery has had a long and successful history [a good overview:
Campbell 2003, 22f], even though not much is known about the way it was
organized. It was Caesar himself, who contributed to the popularity of those
machines in the Roman army, taking fuli advantage of artillery in his campaigns
during sieges, but also for the defense of camps. Even though the battles were not
always victorious, examples like the defense of Gergovia showed impressively