Siege ramp

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The Roman siege ramp of Massada

A siege ramp is the name given to ramps that were piled up in ancient times in order to bring siege engines into position against elevated fortresses on mountains, rocks or hills. Heavy battering rams or siege towers could be brought right up to the fortress gates or walls.

Historical examples

Lachish

The oldest siege ramp to date was found in Lachisch , where it was opened in 701 BC. By the Assyrians under King Sennacherib . It is the only known example of an ancient siege ramp from pre-Greek and pre-Roman times. Another special feature is that there is a contemporary illustration of this siege ramp with the Lachish relief of Nineveh. Remnants of the ramp can still be seen today.

Palaia Paphos

Palaia Paphos ( Old Paphos ) in Cyprus was founded around 499 BC. Conquered by the Persians with the help of a siege ramp after the city had rebelled against them. Herodotus report of the siege and the existence of the siege ramp are archaeologically confirmed.

Massada

The most famous siege ramp is the ramp built up against the fortress of Massada in 73 AD by the Roman X Legion under the general Flavius ​​Silva .

literature

Lachish

  • Walter Kaiser (Hrsg.), Wolfgang König (Hrsg.): History of the engineer: a profession in six millennia. Hanser, Munich 2006, ISBN 3-446-40484-8 , p. 28. ( on Google Books )
  • John Murray - Illustrations of the Monuments of Nineveh , London 1849

Palaia Paphos

  • Franz G. Maier (Ed.): Northeast Gate and Persian Siege Ramp in Old Paphos . III. Excavation findings and building history. Contributions by HW Catling, AH Jackson, KO Lorentz, AM Snodgrass, Verlag Philipp von Zabern, 2008, ISBN 978-3-8053-2415-1

Masada

  • Masada: the Yigael Yadin excavations 1963-1965, final reports. Jerusalem: Israel Exploration Society; Hebrew University of Jerusalem 1989 ff.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Othmar Keel, Max Küchler , Christoph Uehlinger: Places and landscapes of the Bible: A handbook and study travel guide. Volume 1, Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, Göttingen 1982, ISBN 3-545-23042-2 . Lachisch, p. 905 ( on Google Books )