The Projectile Throwing engines of the Ancients

This is one of the most important books in the history of hurling. Written by Sir Ralph Payne-Gallwey in 1907, it's the first serious work on the ancient catapults to be written in modern times.

In this book, Sir Ralph explores the ancient writings of sieges and their artillery. Not content to take the writings at face value, he endeavors to assign credibility to the writer, then he goes on to produce his own working versions of the ancient machines, to test the principles and the claims of the ancient writers.

This digital edition of the book includes all the illustrations and footnotes, re-formatted to make sense without page boundaries.

With over 22 illustrations, the book gives details about the design, construction and operation of the three fundamental types of siege engines- the Catapult (also known as the Mangonel or Onager), the Ballista and the Trebuchet, as well as the history and effects of such weapons.