In 70 CE, the Roman general (and later emperor) Titus laid siege to Jerusalem for five months, before breaching its walls and destroying the city. Using contemporaneous sources, an analysis of the data, and archaeological evidence, the Israel Antiquities Authority’s Kfir Arbiv has arrived at a better understanding of how the legionaries did it. Aaron Reich writes:
So far, the excavated [Roman] equipment consists of anything from ballista stones, sling stones, spears, arrowheads, swords, and catapults. In particular, Arbiv focused on the ballista stones: . . . large weapons of the ancient world that could be described as akin to gigantic crossbows—though the crossbow itself was a later weapon. These contraptions used springs for torsion in order to launch either heavy darts or large stones in siege warfare; . . . ballistae could also be described as an early form of artillery, used to take out fortifications and target soldiers.
Arbiv [compiled data about] where the ballistae stones were found and [used it to] calculate where they must have been fired from. This complex series of calculations had to factor in everything from the location of the city walls, the angles used to launch each stone, and what their ranges were and the local topography.
For the Israel Antiquities Authority’s director Eli Eskosido, the findings are significant in helping further validate the records of the siege of Jerusalem. “The physical evidence of the huge resources employed by the Roman army in Jerusalem reflects the extremely harsh battles that eventually led to the destruction of the Second Temple,” he explained. “Notwithstanding the internal factions and the impossible odds, a small group of Jewish defenders withstood the Romans for a few months.”
Read more on Jerusalem Post: https://www.jpost.com/archaeology/article-714108