"See that Celt 300 metres away?" "Yes Centurion?" "I don't want to." "Yes Centurion!"

Filmed using a precise replica of an early Roman camcorder.

Barbarian 1: “What are they doing” Barbarian 2: “Still putting that stick in that thing” Barbarian 1: “Lets come back tomorrow”

It's crazy to think they used to shoot dragons with those back in the day

Man, they fire way quicker than this on Age of Empires.

A few year back, I worked on a TV show called The Re-Inventors. (Partners in Motion was the production company) One of my favorite projects was a medieval wind powered personnel/equipment carrier. It was a beautiful thing! At one point during a coffee break, I stepped out of the tent to have a smoke just in time to see this massive thing hop the chocks and start rolling down the stretch of road we were set up on. .... The fabrics weren't even on the windmill blades yet! Needless to say, it was certainly a success. We did manage to run up to it to get it stopped before it damaged anything. The very first project I worked on with them was a medieval battering ram on wheels. The worst, but still really super cool, was when we built three 10' x 14' war kites based on the theory that the Chinese would attach rockets to kites to attack armies on the higher ground. It would have been a fun shoot had it not been mid-winter in Saskatchewan, Canada with temperatures dipping into the -40 range. As luck would have it, on the day we were to film the kites in the air launching the rockets, there was practically no wind. We resorted to launching the kites by pulling them up with a snowmobile. The end results looked pretty awesome if I must say so myself! hahaha Man, I really miss doing that stuff! Your videos really take me back to those days. Thank you for that! Cheers!!

I imagine that with a Centurian screaming at you, it went a lot faster.

I've come back to this video many times. Lets be honest, we all want a ballista out the front of our house.

Crank faster, the Visigoths are already at the gates

Best game of lawn darts ever.

This is a true artifact. And, this artifact shows moving images of Roman artillery.

so far this seems to be the only legit video of a ballista in action

I'd like to think the firing of ancient Roman catapultas (catapultii?) was also accompanied by shouts of "Fuuccckyaaawwwww!"

OUR MEN FLEE THE FIELD OF BATTLE, WHAT A SHAMEFUL DISPLAY

The word "catapult" simply means "to throw things downwards", and it does not apply to any single siege engine design. In fact it is more of a "catch-all" term that can apply to anything from the smallest ballista to the largest trebuchet - any device that can lauch a projectile through mechanically stored energy (as opposed to chemical propellants, air pressure or magnetic rail guns) and is not held by hand is a catapult. "Catapulta" on the other hand is specifically the term used by the romans for smaller siege engines that shot bolts, not stones.

The only proper use of a golf course.

Would you recommend this for concealed carry?

That sound, imagining a battery of those firing a barrage. Must have been terrifying to be on the receiving end

Imagine standing against Roman legions in the field well outside of your bows shooting range and have this things raining on you. Each killing 2-3 men. No armor no shields would save you. And even if at the end of the day actual losses from this things would be insignificant, their impact on morale is huge. Also I would love to have some actual numbers about this device like the weight of the bolt, energy it was carrying, how many times you could fire it before the ropes are done etc.

Put a light/led on the arrow to observe the flight. Would've been nice.

"Where'd it go though?" "That way" Fantastic

That helicopter pilot's story would win first place at the pilot's convention.

So this is how golf holes are made...

Guy causally flying helicopter, looking around and enjoying the scenery: “Wow, it’s such a beautiful day out-wait, what’s that over there? Let me just fly a little clo- OH GOD OH FU-“

Damn, that thing is an ancient BEAST!! I wonder what the rate of fire was for the Romans?? No doubt the Barbarians found out .... the HARD way!

You know the Romans invented the high visibility safety helmet. Sadly forgotten by so many historians but these men remember. As Caeser said "be safe, be seen".

I love how they all have their helmets and goggles on as if they would help them if something went wrong with THAT thing.

Its possible kill a dragon with this ?

Imagine the unfortunate warriors that got hit by that😢😢😢😢

1:15 That ground to air ballista attack was insane, crashing the helicopter in one shot

Love that they are wearing helmets, and that the cameraman keeps a healthy distance.

250M to 300M isn't near the range I thought this beast would have. Beautiful workmanship either way.

1:06 I thought you were gonna try and shoot down the heliopter.

Imagine an instant catapult legolas

People in the house behind the hedge: "They're getting closer Ian!" Through a megaphone out the window: "Alright! alright! we'll subscribe already!"

All Rome will be amazed at such victory! The day is ours!

What a satisfying sound it makes. Love it

some german dude: Imagen getting nailed to a tree by one of these

Когда появился звук вертолета я подумал 'а вот и мишень')))

Just imagine going to war and having the man next to you get impaled by this thing from half a mile away. Insane.

At 1:15 we hear a plane. At 1:21 we don't hear a plane. Coincidental? I don't think so.

It’s a medieval anti-aircraft weapon

Those guys should be very proud of themselves. They did an amazing job.

I love the hard hats - because if something breaks, decapitates you, and your heads rolls away; it would be a pity to muss up your hair.

Imagine a row of these firing directly at you from 100m all at once - no armour, no shield absolutely nothing can protect you. The Romans knew how to make war. These weapons weren't primarily about killing efficiency - they struck fear in to the enemy when they saw their fellow warriors get skewered by a bolt like that. The machine itself is amazing and well done for recreating it. The hard hats and safety gear, not so much! Just dress like Romans and have some balls ;)

Quite compact and mobile. And, if my assumptions are right, the forces in action are applied on a more symetrical horizontal plane than many other weapons of the era making it stable and precise. Using ropes as energy accumulator instead of bent wood make this weapon also highly serviceable. Change the ropes and it is still good to go. Clever.

Did anyone notice the use of authentic early Roman language at various points. Excellent !

What I took from this video is the "ooos" and "ahhhs" as the thing was fired from the guys gathered around even if you was a "barbarian" say a simple gaul you still couldn't fail to be impressed I'd suggest...cheers now

Put a GoPro on the front of a bolt. I know balance issues but...

These machines are awesome. My ballista threw a 3 mina stone 265 yards, and it wasn't even fully torqued up to full power in in the half-springs. You can squeeze a lot more power in that catapulta if the cord bundles are pre-tensioned properly.

Ballistae in all of their shape were the terror of any battlefield. I read about a Chinese variant of the Ballista that incorporated THREE bows to launch missiles to a recorded maximum of 1,100 meters!! This particular weapon however could only be practically used from a wall and its size made it very impractical to move and build on the field.

So this is where the falling logs in my backyard comes from.

that thing is nuts

Чтобы выстрелить на 200м, натягивали тетиву 3 минуты. Противник эти 200 метров пробежит за несколько секунд. Поэтому годится только для осад, а не для полевых сражений.

good to see the Romans had the right idea about safety and ensured hard hats were worn

I love that they are wearing hard hats, as if that will protect them.

Always happens, one kid on the block gets the latest toy, every one comes out to play!!

Best game of lawn darts ever. The next time someone complains about the draw of their bow being too much, show them this.

Roman Emperor: I want a crossbow that shoots tree logs.

So ... what do you do for fun ? I go out an socialize. I sky dive. I date girls. I drive. I go home and shoot my roman ballista !

Where did you got this plans from? Some colleges and me also want to build a ballista and this was the one we prefered... Thanks for your answer.

When i heard the helicopter i tought "omg do they want to shoot down an helicopter?" 😆

There's ancient Roman and Greek artillery, and then there's modern egghead and geek artillery.

these guys would be dead already cranking that slow

Imagine being hit by that. That thing is insane! And there were ones that were even bigger.

What would the Romans have shot at with this?. I mean it is super cool and very interesting. But what was the reason the Romans built it?. I am very jealous that you gt to build this and I didn't.

Isn't a ballista a guy who prepares coffee in china?

I had visions of this taking out the helicopter lol

What no one thought to bring a proper camera 😂 I think the hoarded would be upon thee by the time you reloaded , imagine having to dodge that large slow moving stick 😮😂😂😂

200 m? There is a guy with a handheld recurve bow (no modern materials) shooting 500 m and more, and he also hits things...:)

now if you could just rig the projectiles w/ explosives/ firecrackers that would be sweet

That thing is badass! I always thought they were designed to shoot farther than a longbow, what benefit does this have over a bow? He heavier bolt may kill one man faster but I can't see much more of a benefit? What am I missing?

Уважуха мужикам за реконструкцию.

Nothing beats a literal telephone pole being launched at high speeds!

Was it used for dragon hunting?

Hearing the helicopter made me think they where in empire earth.

Soon as I heard the plane sound and the release angle I was like please o please!

Some civilization at one point made a double-bow version of these at one point, didn't they?

look good for sigeing Jerusalem

Great video, but please, don't load it before drawing the string back.

just imagine how far a giant ballista would go!

Pure awesomeness!!! GREAT JOB FELLAS!!!

Anyone here after the latest episode of got 😂😂😂

2:00 - а}{уеть!

you can even hear the roman air cavalry at the beginning

The old saying even runs true today, the better your opponent, the better you get. So England got a leg up by engaging the most powerful army in the world, for centuries.. it was tragic, but well worth the technology and insight.

Rhaegal :(

this one is just a gastrafetes styled oversized impractical machine. it is to big and slow

ES LA PRIMERA Y UNICA REPICA REALISTA QUE E VISTO, DESDE EL PUNTO DE VISTA TECNICO, BUEN TRABAJO

Heat of battle, commanders screaming to quicken the pace, and fatique would make this a very dangerous job.

DEUS VULT!!!

too lazy to walk 300 meters? haha

The range of this tool is a maximum of two hundred meters. A good arrow range can be four hundred meters. The Ottoman bow had a range of up to six hundred meters. That is why the Ottoman ruled the world for six hundred years.

I'd like to see Joerg Sprave, AKA The Slingshot Guy do a semi auto version of this, fire off half a dozen bolts in quick succession, have one of his trademark hearty chuckles, and then fire off a couple more for good measure.

The things you come up with after a evening out with the boys at the pub...

Looks like the boyz had a lot of fun! :) Takes 2 minutes to load with a smaller draw weight then the one in GOT. Maybe D&D should have watched something like this bevor they graced us with their inventions!

Parádní věc.... mnoho přesných zásahů

The more they tighten it the more kinetic energy they are adding. Wow

I think you need to do this again now that the Age of Ancient Artillery has combined with the Age of High Definition Video. (Or at least cameras that actually focus.) But thanks for bringing us this.

That sound is sick