Siege Machines - 600th Rally Continues

The following day we had fun of a different kind, when we took our group to visit Lex and Angela’s Private Museum. The instructions were to look for the red bambino  and continue up the drive. 

There it is

Lex gave us a talk in the Museum telling us about the hunting trophies on display.  And about the fun they had collecting dinosaur bones, old guns and machinery, his interests are many and varied.  This was followed with morning tea and we all enjoyed Angela’s yummy cheese scones.

Displays in the museum

The highlight of the morning was the display of Lex’s war machines, all built by him.  Trebuchets – also known as siege engines, made to fling large rocks at castle walls to break them down, and flaming projectiles were also fired up and over the walls.  Such interesting machines of long ago.  Gunpowder was lit, fiery arrows were hurled aloft – it was certainly an exciting exhibition of early warfare.  Ear protectors were supplied for the noise.  Some man power was needed to work the machines – this one is a traction trebuchet, or mangonel, which uses manpower to swing the arm.  Six of our campers answered the call.

More brute strength was needed on the Battering Ram, and our six men went to try their luck with this..  Pulling hard on the ropes, the heavy timber post swung forward to batter down the castle gates.  Not having done this before, it was difficult to get the rhythm right, they said.

The Ketepeltes machine from Roman times is wound up using a chain and cogs releasing the arrows which can pierce through shields.  No wonder we all had to keep well back out of harm’s way.

Roman War Machine

The arrow in the giant crossbow was set alight, the fuse was lit, and off it went, bringing death and destruction to any in the way.

Giant Crossbow

Of all the machines, I liked the Trebuchets best, probably from reading so many books about medieval history. Those living in castles weren’t really safe when this machine was brought in.  Rocks were hurled at the castle walls, and burning projectiles, together with such things as dead diseased animals were flung over the walls.   A trebuchet (French: trebuchet) is a type of catapult that uses a long arm to throw a projectile. It was a common powerful siege engine until the advent of gunpowder.

Trebuchet siege machine

This may look like a little cannon, but it went off with a big bang, hence the ear protectors.

What a clever and enthusiastic collector Lex is, particularly as he constructed and maintains all of theses machines himself.  During the demonstrations he used $100 worth of gunpowder, he told us.

Lex, the great white hunter

All the fees for museum visits collected by Lex and Angela are donated to the Fred Hollows Foundation to provide cataract surgery for patients facing blindness in the Pacific Islands.  Such a good cause.  We really enjoyed our museum visit and hope the other club members did as well.