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Thescorpio orscorpion was a type ofRomantorsion siege engine and fieldartillery piece. It was described in detail by the early-imperial Roman architect and engineerVitruvius[1] in the 1st century BC and by the 4th century AD officer and historianAmmianus Marcellinus.[2]
Two versions are known: a horizontal two-armed variety like a ballista and a one-armed, vertical version otherwise referred to as anonager. The scorpion was made of a ground frame made of two beams joined together with crossbeams. Spring holes were drilled into the sides of the beams to allow for ropes to be placed in, thus allowing them to serve as sinew-springs. This gave the weapon more power. An arm made of wood known as thestilus, with iron hooks at the end, was used to hold the stone or bolt which was to be fired.[3] The fourth century army officer and historian Ammianus Marcellinus witnessed the use ofscorpiones during several engagements in thePersian wars of Constantius II, and described the one-armed version as synonymous with theonager, with the vertical upraised arm as the 'scorpion's sting'.[2] The complexity of construction and in particular the torsion springs (which the Romans referred to astormenta) led to great sensitivity to any variation in temperature or moisture, which limited their use. While this type of technology continued to be used in theByzantine Empire, which was the continuation of the Roman Empire through theMiddle Ages, it had disappeared in the Middle Ages in Western Europe. Unlike theonager, the scorpion only required one man to operate it.[4]
In 52 BC, during the siege ofAvaricum in the war against theGauls,Julius Caesar mentions thescorpio in use as an anti-personnel weapon against the Gallic town's defenders.[5][6] The late third or early fifth century Roman authorVegetius described weapons like the scorpion mounted on carts for campaign use. According to Vegetius, theRoman Empire ideally fielded fifty-fivecarroballistae perlegion, one for everycentury, of whom ten men would be deputed to operate the machine. These, which match Vitruvius's description and the depictions onTrajan's Column and theColumn of Marcus Aurelius, he describes as mule-drawn, armour-piercingballistae which "are to be used not only for defending the camp, but also in the field".[7] The carroballista could be synonymous with, or very similar to, thescorpio mounted (and not merely transported) on a cart.
The bolt-firing scorpio had mainly two functions in a legion. In precision shooting, it was a weapon of marksmanship capable of cutting down any foe within a distance of 100 m (330 ft). In parabolic shooting, the range is greater, with distances up to 400 m (1,300 ft), and the firing rate is higher (3 to 4 shots per minute). With precision shooting the rate of fire was significantly less. Scorpions could be used in anartillery battery at the top of a hill or other high ground, the side of which was protected by the main body of the legion. The weight and speed of a bolt was sufficient to pierce enemy shields, usually also wounding the enemy so struck.
Like other ancient artillery, the scorpion could be cumbersome and costly campaign equipment, as it could be quite difficult to move quickly and usually acted as a fixed weapon used in infantry defense and for sieges,[8] where it was used both as a siege weapon, fired by the besiegers from earthworks and siege towers, and as an element in cities' defences, mounted on walls and towers.
A further development oftorsion siege enginesscorpio was thecheiroballista.[9]
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