Editing Battering ram (section)

==Design==

The earliest depiction of a possible battering ram is from the tomb of the [[11th Dynasty]] Egyptian noble Khety, where a pair of soldiers advance towards a fortress under the protection of a mobile roofed structure, carrying a long pole that may represent a simple battering ram.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.touregypt.net/featurestories/siegewarfare.html| title=Siege warfare in ancient Egypt |publisher=Tour Egypt|access-date=23 May 2020 |quote=...we find a pair of Middle Kingdom soldiers advancing towards a fortress under the protection of a mobile roofed structure. They carry a long pole that was perhaps an early battering ram. }}</ref>

During the [[Iron Age]], in the [[ancient Middle East]] and [[Mediterranean]], the battering ram's log was slung from a wheeled frame by ropes or chains so that it could be made more massive and be more easily bashed against its target. Frequently, the ram's point would be reinforced with a metal head or cap while vulnerable parts of the shaft were bound with strengthening metal bands. [[Vitruvius]] details in his text {{lang|la|[[De architectura]]}} that Ceras the [[Ancient Carthage| Carthaginian]] was the first to make a ram with a wooden base with wheels and a wooden superstructure, with the ram hung within. This structure moved so slowly, however, that he called it the ''testudo'' (Latin for "tortoise").<ref>Humphrey, John W. Oleson, John P. Sherwood, Andrew N. "Greek and Roman Technology: A Sourcebook". Routledge, 1998, p. 565.</ref>

Another type of ram was one that maintained the normal shape and structure, but the support beams were instead made of saplings that were lashed together. The frame was then covered in hides as normal to defend from fire. The only solid beam present was the ram that was hung from the frame. The frame itself was so light that it could be carried on the shoulders of the men transporting the ram, and the same men could beat the ram against the wall when they reached it.<ref>Humphrey, John W. Oleson, John P. Sherwood, Andrew N. "Greek and Roman Technology: A Sourcebook". Routledge, 1998, p. 566.</ref>

Many battering rams had curved or slanted wooden roofs and side-screens, covered in protective materials, usually fresh wet hides. These canopies reduced the risk of the ram being set on fire, and protected the operators of the ram from arrow and javelin volleys launched from above.

An image of an [[Assyria]]n battering ram depicts how sophisticated attacking and defensive practices had become by the 9th century BC. The defenders of a town wall are trying to set the ram alight with torches and have also put a chain under it. The attackers are trying to pull on the chain to free the ram, while the aforementioned wet hides on the canopy provide protection against the flames.

By the time the [[Kingdom of Kush|Kushites]] made their incursions into Egypt, {{circa|715&nbsp;BC}}, walls, siege tactics and equipment had undergone many changes. Early shelters protecting [[sappers]] armed with poles trying to breach [[mudbrick]] ramparts gave way to battering rams.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.touregypt.net/featurestories/siegewarfare.html| title=Siege warfare in ancient Egypt |publisher=Tour Egypt|access-date=23 May 2020}}</ref>

The first confirmed use of rams in the Occident happened from 503 to 502 BC when Opiter [[Verginius]] became consul of the Romans during the fight against Aurunci people:
{{Blockquote|text=The following consuls, Opiter Virginius and Sp. Cassius, first endeavored to take Pometia by storm, and afterwards by raising battering rams (vineae) and other works.|author=[[Livy]], Ab urbe condita, History of Rome, Book II, Chapter 17}}

The second known use was in 427 BC, when the [[Sparta]]ns besieged [[Plataea]].<ref>Tucidides, II, 76.</ref> The first use of rams within the Mediterranean Basin, featuring in this case the simultaneous employment of [[siege towers]] to shelter the rammers from attack, occurred on the island of [[Sicily]] in 409 BC, at the [[Selinus]] siege.<ref>Diodorus the Siculus, XIII, 43-62.</ref>
 
Defenders manning castles, forts or bastions would sometimes try to foil battering rams by dropping obstacles in front of the ram, such as a large sack of sawdust, just before the ram's head struck a wall or gate, or by using grappling hooks to immobilize the ram's log. Alternatively, the ram could be set ablaze, doused in fire-heated sand, pounded by boulders dropped from battlements or invested by a rapid sally of troops.

Some battering rams were not slung from ropes or chains, but were instead supported by rollers. This allowed the ram to achieve a greater speed before striking its target, making it more destructive. Such a ram, as used by [[Alexander the Great]], is described by Vitruvius.

Alternatives to the battering ram included the [[drill]], the sapper's mouse, the pick, the [[siege hook]], and the hunting ram. These devices were smaller than a ram and could be used in confined spaces.