I was reading about ancient armies. How they would line up a few hundred yards away from each other and then hang out there, sometimes for days. Before the Battle of Marathon this went on for a week. I imagine the distance of the lineup has to do with the range of available projectile weapons.

I propose a crew served bow. This bigass bow would have two or maybe 4 people holding it. One or maybe 2 more could pull back the string and let fly. Otherwise is it just a bow and arrow, but because it is big it will go farther. You can shoot it up and over the wall of the city you are besieging and still be out of range of archers on the walls. You do not have to roll it along like a ballista. If you happen upon a tractable giant maybe he can shoot it single handed.
-- bungston, Aug 17 2016

Baked. As a technology, they had a very short life before being made obsolete by, as you point out, ballista-type weapons.

They were carried on a light wheeled frame, like a chariot - there are Sumerian illustrations on some wall friezes somewhere.

Aiming was a problem - esserntially only useful against a mass target, or for siege warfare.

[suggeted-for-deletion] Baked, known to have existed.
-- 8th of 7, Aug 17 2016


At some point, it must become more effective to launch actual warriors towards the enemy.
-- MaxwellBuchanan, Aug 17 2016


And if said warriors were themselves armed you've just invented the MIRV.
-- whatrock, Aug 17 2016


(imagines Paul Bunyan, about to fire (single handedly) an arrow with a half-dozen plaid-clad men tied back-to-shaft; one of whom begins yelling, "Hey, I'm Johnny Inkslinger, I'm not an actual warrior!")
-- lurch, Aug 17 2016


//Battle of Marathon

Battle of Snickers, do try and keep up.
-- not_morrison_rm, Aug 18 2016



random, halfbakery