Ancient Roman Machine Gun-Like Weapon May Have Damaged Pompeii’s Walls During Siege

Before Pompeii was engulfed in volcanic ash, its walls may have been battered by an ancient "machine gun" while the city was under siege. With a third of Pompeii still buried beneath volcanic debris from the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 C.E., archaeologists continue to discover evidence of the city’s turbulent past, including battle damage on its walls.

A study recently published in Heritage proposes a compelling hypothesis to explain several peculiar impact marks along the northern stretch of Pompeii’s fortified walls: This damage potentially came from a barrage of metal-tipped projectiles launched by a polybolos, a repeating ballista that may have been used to slay Pompeii’s defenders during the city's siege in 89 B.C.E.

Roman Siege of Pompeii During the Social War

Most people see Pompeii as an iconic Roman city, but it wasn’t always inhabited by Romans. The Roman Republic took control of the city during the Social War of 91 to 88 B.C.E., when it fought to subdue its Italian allies (or socii) that wanted either full Roman citizenship or independence, according to EBSCO.

In 89 B.C.E., an army under the Roman general and statesman Sulla marched upon Pompeii, one of many cities rebelling against Rome. Hoping to cut Pompeii off from resources and force a surrender, Sulla began a siege on Pompeii, according to Pompeii Archaeological Park.