This is a trebuchet, a gravity-powered medieval siege engine. #shorts

Added: 2026-06-01

A trebuchet is a gravity-powered medieval siege engine that uses a heavy counterweight falling on a short arm to launch projectiles from a long arm with a sling; the critical engineering challenge is the sling release mechanism, where the millisecond timing of the rope leaving the hook determines whether the projectile travels its intended trajectory or crashes short, as demonstrated by modern hobby builds achieving 600 feet with 300 kg counterweights and historical industrial trebuchets throwing 100 kg stones nearly half a kilometer with 18-tonne counterweights.