Shattered skeleton in Scottish castle is first confirmed death from trebuchet
Shattered skeleton is first confirmed death from trebuchet
Archaeologists have identified the first confirmed victim of a trebuchet, a medieval siege weapon, from a skeleton found at Stirling Castle in Scotland. The remains, known as Skeleton 150, show over 160 fractures, including a skull broken in 61 places, consistent with a high-velocity impact from a massive boulder. The injuries suggest the man was hit from behind during the 1304 siege, likely by a projectile from the 'War Wolf', the largest trebuchet ever built at that time.
The breaks indicate a very large area of impact and devastation. It's likely the individual was killed by a siege engine.
- N_Lens
"What are you going to do, lob a stone at me from 300m away?" shouted the man on the parapet, moments before impact.
- Levitating
"...uncovered the graves of nine skeletons dated to the early 1300s. Five, including Skeleton 150, dated to the 1300s."
That seems like a contradiction.
- CTDOCodebases
Trebuchets were used in the Syrian civil war (2011-2024).
I would link a video but I don't think that is a wise idea for legal reasons. There were so many parties in that war and I'm not sure which ones were declared terrorist organizations.
- cobbzilla
But have they identified the trebuchet that killed him?
We can rule out Warwolf [1] my favorite trebuchet, which never killed anyone.
- JoeAltmaier
Interesting find!
I wonder if the massive damage could also be explained by the falling wall (documented in the article).