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| | Legion XXIV - Weapons Page |
 | | It was an easier to construct and maintain alternative to the "Ballista" or "Palintones" catapult, which was the largest of the siege weapons normally used by the Romans. |
 | | The Onager, on the other hand, was basically one half of a Ballista, turned 90 degrees, having only one instead of the two twisted rope skeins, as employed by the Ballista, to provide the power for casting objects toward an enemy. |
 | | While simpler to construct, the onager provided the same amount of throwing power as the more complicated ballista, but was more difficult to keep aligned on a target, due to the "wildass" kicking motion of the weapon, when the casting arm was halted by the stop frame. |
| www.legionxxiv.org /weapons (1875 words) |
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