Ok, the earlier thread about siege engines reminded me of something I read once, in a SciFi novel I think, that the women of Carthage donated their hair to help make catapults. Anyone ever hear of this? Ok, I can see how twisted strands of rope or leather could create enough torsion to work, but that’s a lot of hair, yeah
Larry
This picture of a ballista shows the thick vertical bits that the ballista arms are passed through. These were typically made from hair, with long (hence women’s) human hair being best, although horsehair from manes and tails was also common. Hair was strong, was easily spun into long cords, and was unaffected by rain. Sinew and rope were sometimes used but were not as good.
The hair would be formed into thin ropes which were then wound over and over around bars at the top and bottom, and the resulting thick skein then twisted to provide strong torsion on the arms thrust through the middle of the skein. It did take a lot of hair, which was why the donations would be so significant (as well as being a very visible sign of the women’s determination and sacrifice to help the defences).