Evidence of Ancient Greek ‘Machine Gun’, Polybolos, Discovered in Pompeii

Evidence of Ancient Greek ‘Machine Gun’, Polybolos, Discovered in Pompeii

Researchers in Pompeii believe they may have found the first physical evidence of an ancient Greek ‘machine gun’ known as polybolos. Image:Damage near the Herculaneum Gate at Pompeii. Credit: Mike Bishop / CC BY-NC-SA 2.0 A recent study suggests Roman forces may have used a rare ancient Greek repeating ballista—known as the polybolos and sometimes described as a ‘machine gun of antiquity’—during the siege of Pompeii in 89 BCE. Researchers say ma…

A team of Italian researchers discovered marks on the walls of Pompeii that could be the first known proof of the use of an ancient and sophisticated weapon of war, polybolos, a kind of automatic crossbow that could throw multiple arrows without needing to be recharged, such as modern machine guns. Its invention is attributed [...]