Mangonel Siege Engine

The mangonel is a siege weapon which dates from classical antiquity. The mangonel is a form of catapult which hurls stones or other missiles by means of a single arm propelled by torsion from a skein of twisted rope or sinew.

The mangonel (see below) was a relatively inefficient weapon because of its massive size and the smallish size of the missiles it could hurl. The mangonel weighed nearly 3 tons and could hurl 5 kg missiles 110 metres. The siege engine was probably used to hurl incendiary missiles rather than to attack castle walls.

The mangonel seen above is a working model which can be viewed by visitors to Caerphilly Castle.

Access – Getting There

Caerphilly Castle is located between the B4600 and B4623 in central Caerphilly in southern Wales just north of Cardiff. Visitors to Caerphilly Castle may also want to visit the nearby Caerleon Fortress Baths, Caerleon Amphitheatre or Roman Legionary Museum Caerleon.

Caerphilly
Cardiff
CF83 1JD

Tel: 029 2088 3143

Caerphilly Castle Map

Read about another medieval siege engine – the trebuchet.

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