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Maty

pssst .... want to buy a used ballista?

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Not just your average ballista, this is the mega-version that stands over two meters tall and was made for a television documentary. Interestingly, it broke because modern ropes were not as good as the twisted ox-sinews the romans used.

 

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2008/10/01/ro...artillery_ebay/

 

Full specifications are

 

The ballista is 7.5 meters tall, it is 8.5 meters long and weighs 12 tons.(added by edit)

Edited by Maty

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From the eBay UK site:

 

"We will undertake the essential repairs needed so that the ballista will again be a formidable, full-size and accurate recreation of an early war machine

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Don't worry Nephele, they'll restore it in good working order for you. But here's the question I have: do I need a background check to purchase this siege weaponry? I mean, you can't buy a Glock on ebay, but you can buy the kind of artillery that will knock over a house?!?

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Don't worry Nephele, they'll restore it in good working order for you. But here's the question I have: do I need a background check to purchase this siege weaponry? I mean, you can't buy a Glock on ebay, but you can buy the kind of artillery that will knock over a house?!?

 

MPC, your question had just the right touch of dangerously crazed sincerity in it, so of course I had to ask it of the ballista sellers. And, what do you know... They answered me!

 

Q: Hi. Does one need a background check to purchase siege weaponry? 04-Oct-08

 

A: I couldn

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If there's a mention of a few flattened houses on the news any time soon, we'll know who brought it!

 

Strangely enough I was watching the original documentary about that Ballista on Youtube a few days back.

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If there's a mention of a few flattened houses on the news any time soon, we'll know who brought it!

 

Out of curiosity, I just now checked the eBay link to see if anyone actually bought this thing. Bidding ended on October 10th and not a single person bid for this item.

 

Hmm... I wonder if we can talk the seller down in price now, seeing as how it's a buyer's market for ballistae?

 

-- Nephele

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