TO THE ASSAULT: SIEGE MACHINES
From 19/07/2013 to 15/10/2013. Every day
Curator: Captain José Luis Chaves Repullo
It is an exhibition about siege engines. The drawing illustrates very well the idea transmitted by Aristotle about poliorcetics in the fourth century B.C. Cic., Rep., Book III, 20: "If I am not mistaken, every kingdom and every empire is achieved by wars and propagated by victories. Wars and victories are usually won by the conquest and destruction of cities. Such a feat is not carried out without offending the gods: the walls and temples are torn down..."
The study of Polyorcetics is a recurrent activity in the study of the Art of War and is present in numerous academic fields.
A particular aspect of the study of Poliorcetics is the study of the weapons or machines used in siege, a warrior blocking technique used for the conquest of cities or walled or fortified enclosures, in which, actively, an attacking force uses mechanical elements or devices to destroy or overcome their defenses.
The temporary exhibition "On the Assault", an exhibition on Siege Engines, organized by the Army Museum in collaboration with the Trebuchet Park theme park, brings together an exceptional set of reproductions of reconstructed siege engines both to scale and life-size, which allow the visitor to follow the evolution of different types of machines over a wide range of time. which goes from the ninth century B.C. to the fourteenth century A.D.
The exhibition, articulated with a markedly didactic character, allows the visitor to enjoy an authentic visual experience that places them, in a timeless way, in the context of siege wars, stages the way in which they were carried out, and allows them to contemplate an exceptional set of siege engines, while making them understand the physical principles on which their use is based.
Exhibition route.- The exhibition is divided into four areas:
1. THE SIEGE WARS
This area places the visitor in the context in which siege engines were used: the siege wars and the assault on the stronghold.
2. TO ASSAULT
This section immerses the visitor in an imaginary assault on a stronghold, in which, progressively approaching the wall, they can contemplate, reconstructed to scale, the types of machines used in each phase of the assault and the physical foundations that govern their operation.
3. CURRENT WEAPONS
This section invites the visitor to recognize in different environments of today's daily life those machines that he has just contemplated in the previous section, and of which, although they ceased to be used in the fourteenth century, their memory is still present.
4. ACTUAL SIZE
The scale reproductions of the previous sections are complemented by the contemplation, in real size, of a selection of them, which allows the visitor to acquire a full understanding of the dimension of their use in real combat