[German version]

A. Archaic and Classical periods

From the beginnings of the pólis in the 8th/7th cents. BC, urban fortifications in the true sense began to appear in the Greek world. During a siege, spears, slings and bows would be used as long-distance weapons for attack and defence; hand-thrown stones were also an effective weapon of defence. Attack technology was modest: ladders for climbing walls, axes and simple battering rams for breaking open gates. Meanwhile, t…