Hello from Massachusetts

[Anonymous]

Greetings,
I found this forum while looking for information on draft animals, especially mules and oxen. As my profile indicates I am a Roman history re-enactor and my primary area of interest is artillery (catapults) and transportation. While there plenty of experts and tons of material published about ancient weapons, few “experts” have taken the time to research and consider how those weapons were transported. One of my current projects is a full scale reconstruction of a two-wheeled two-mule military cart known as a carrus (from which we get the word cargo). Along with four-wheeled ox carts they were used to haul the Legion’s gear across the vast Empire. Around 100 A.D. they developed a new type of catapult that shot long arrows and could be fired from the bed of a cart. This was callled the carroballista, essentiallly the world’s first field artillery piece. My cart and the base of the weapon are nearly complete so now I am working on the yoke, pole, and associated tack while I finalize the design of the ballista. Any advice forum members can offer on how harness systems worked prior to the introduction of the collar is appreciated.
Regards,

[jen judkins]

Welcome, Clodius! Fascinating stuff! Any pictures? Jennifer.

[Anonymous]

Jennifer,
It’s good to know that I’m not the only one interested in such arcane stuff. My wife thinks I’m nuts, but she’s had years to figure that out. I’ve put the cart before the horse (or rather mule), but that’s only because I haven’t been able to figure out how to build a mule. Here’s a photo of what I’ve made. Please ignore the catapult that’s in it. It’s a much earlier weapon that we were stuck using for testing.

[Author]

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