Editing Roman siege engines (section)

===Battering ram===
{{Main|Battering ram}}

[[File:Meyers b1 s0808 b1.png|thumb|300px|Roman battering ram.]]

[[File:Murbräcka med skjul, Nordisk familjebok.png|thumb|A battering ram (aries) with a shed ([[Siege engine|testudo]]). After a relief on [[Septimius Severus]]' triumphal arc in Rome.]]

Roman battering rams, or ''aries'', were an effective weapon for breaking down an enemy's walls, as well as their morale.  Under [[Roman law]], any defenders who failed to surrender before the first ram touched their wall were denied any rights.<ref>Goldsworthy 2000: p. 145</ref>  The moment they heard the ram hit the wall, those inside the city knew that the siege proper had begun and there was no turning back.<ref>Gilliver 1999: p. 140</ref>

[[Image:MasadaRamp.jpg|right|thumb|250px|The remains of the Roman siege-ramp at [[Masada]]]]

[[Josephus]] describes the battering ram used at [[Jotapata]] thus:<ref>Le Bohec 1994: p. 139</ref>

<blockquote>It is an immense beam, similar to a ship’s mast, with one end covered with iron shaped into a ram’s head; hence its name.  It is suspended from another beam like a balance arm by cables around its middle, and this in turn is supported at both ends by posts fixed in the ground.  It is drawn back by a huge number of men who then push it forward in unison with all their might so that it hits the wall with its iron head.  There is no tower strong enough nor any wall thick enough to withstand repeated blows of this kind, and many cannot resist the first shock.</blockquote>

[[Vitruvius]] in ''[[De Architectura]] ''Book X describes the construction and use of battering rams.

For protection, a battering ram was suspended in a mobile shelter called a tortoise, or ''testudo''.  According to [[Vegetius]], it was given this name because the ram would swing out of the shelter much like a tortoise's head comes out of its shell.  Such shelters would provide the men within protection against missiles and incendiary devices.  They were constructed from a framework of strong timbers with planks and wicker hurdles on the sides.  The entire shelter would then be covered with a fireproof material such as uncured hides.<ref>Gilliver 1999: pp. 134-135</ref> According to [[Apollodorus of Damascus]], the shelter should be fixed to the ground while the ram was being used to both prevent skidding and strain on the axles from the weight of the moving apparatus.  This would also increase the strength of the impact on the walls.<ref>Gilliver 1999: p. 138</ref>