Bertrand has since built several more trebs, including one that stands 33 feet tall. Historically, engineers named their ...

Firing a trebuchet involves dozens of steps, but the basic idea is simple. First, the counterweight gets raised to store energy. Three of the dudes and I begin ratcheting it up by turning two ...

“This is kind of chancy. We’ve never done anything this wide and big,” warned Roger Bacon. “OK. Let’s do it.” There was a countdown, a whoosh, and suddenly a whe… ...

In 2009, four 13-year-olds in the bodies of 30-something men built a medieval siege engine in the backyard of a suburban single-family home. The result: bowling balls, old television sets and used ...

The trebuchet was used in the Middle Ages to hurl rocks, cast-iron balls and other projectiles into or over walls of fortresses and buildings. "They could take down the walls with it," Pickering said.