How did Roman siege engineers turn a massive wooden beam into a powerful wall-breaking weapon?
The Roman aries, or battering ram, could be suspended by ropes from a heavy transverse support, allowing its iron-headed beam to swing backward and forward against a fortified wall.
More elaborate versions placed the ram inside a mobile wooden shelter covered with protective rawhide. This structure, associated with the testudo arietaria, protected the operators while they worked the weapon.
In this premium 3D CGI weapon-anatomy episode, explore the iron striking head, suspended beam, rollers, ropes, timber framework and protective hide covering through cinematic drone shots, animated mechanical cutaways, neon illumination and powerful synchronized sound effects.
This reconstruction is based on Vitruvius's description in Book X of *De Architectura*. No complete original machine survives, so exact configurations could vary.
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