The Claw of Archimedes (Ancient Greek: Ἁρπάγη, romanized: harpágē, lit. 'snatcher'; also known as the iron hand) was an ancient weapon devised by Archimedes to defend the seaward portion of Syracuse's city wall against amphibious assault. Although its exact nature is unclear, the accounts of ancient historians seem to describe it as a sort of crane equipped with a grappling hook that was able to drop and partly submerge an attacking ship down into the water, then either cause the ship to capsize or suddenly let it go altogether. It was dropped onto enemy ships, which would then swing on to defensive forces and destroy them.
A painting of the Claw of Archimedes by Giulio Parigi, taking the name "iron hand" literally, 1599-1600
These machines featured prominently during the Second Punic War in 214 BC, when the Roman Republicattacked Syracuse with a fleet of 60 quinqueremes under Marcus Claudius Marcellus. When the Roman fleet approached the city walls under cover of darkness, the machines were deployed, sinking many ships and throwing the attack into confusion. Historians such as Livy attributed heavy Roman losses to these machines, together with catapults also devised by Archimedes.
The plausibility of this invention was tested in 1999 in the BBC series Secrets of the Ancients and again in early 2005 in the Discovery Channel series Superweapons of the Ancient World. The producers of Superweapons brought together a group of engineers tasked with conceiving and implementing a design that was realistic, given what is known about Archimedes. Within seven days they were able to test their creation, and they did succeed in tipping over a model of a Roman ship so that it would sink. While this does not prove the existence of the Claw, it suggests that it would have been possible.
Young, C. K. (December 2004). "Archimedes's iron hand or claw – a new interpretation of an old mystery". Centaurus. 46 (3): 189–207. Bibcode:2004Cent...46..189Y. doi:10.1111/j.1600-0498.2004.00009.x.
External linksedit
Scale models of the Claw's operation
January 01, 1970
claw, archimedes, this, article, includes, list, references, related, reading, external, links, sources, remain, unclear, because, lacks, inline, citations, please, help, improve, this, article, introducing, more, precise, citations, 2019, learn, when, remove,. This article includes a list of references related reading or external links but its sources remain unclear because it lacks inline citations Please help improve this article by introducing more precise citations May 2019 Learn how and when to remove this message The Claw of Archimedes Ancient Greek Ἁrpagh romanized harpage lit snatcher also known as the iron hand was an ancient weapon devised by Archimedes to defend the seaward portion of Syracuse s city wall against amphibious assault Although its exact nature is unclear the accounts of ancient historians seem to describe it as a sort of crane equipped with a grappling hook that was able to drop and partly submerge an attacking ship down into the water then either cause the ship to capsize or suddenly let it go altogether It was dropped onto enemy ships which would then swing on to defensive forces and destroy them A painting of the Claw of Archimedes by Giulio Parigi taking the name iron hand literally 1599 1600 These machines featured prominently during the Second Punic War in 214 BC when the Roman Republic attacked Syracuse with a fleet of 60 quinqueremes under Marcus Claudius Marcellus When the Roman fleet approached the city walls under cover of darkness the machines were deployed sinking many ships and throwing the attack into confusion Historians such as Livy attributed heavy Roman losses to these machines together with catapults also devised by Archimedes The plausibility of this invention was tested in 1999 in the BBC series Secrets of the Ancients and again in early 2005 in the Discovery Channel series Superweapons of the Ancient World The producers of Superweapons brought together a group of engineers tasked with conceiving and implementing a design that was realistic given what is known about Archimedes Within seven days they were able to test their creation and they did succeed in tipping over a model of a Roman ship so that it would sink While this does not prove the existence of the Claw it suggests that it would have been possible See also editCategory Ancient weapons Archimedes heat ray Device purported to be used by Archimedes to burn Roman ships Roman siege engines Adapted from Hellenistic siege technology Sambuca siege engine Ship borne siege engineFurther reading editYoung C K December 2004 Archimedes s iron hand or claw a new interpretation of an old mystery Centaurus 46 3 189 207 Bibcode 2004Cent 46 189Y doi 10 1111 j 1600 0498 2004 00009 x External links editScale models of the Claw s operation BBC Secrets of the Ancients The Claw Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Claw of Archimedes amp oldid 1222714950, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
