00:00The invention of the trebuchet was a breakthrough in siege engine design.
00:03It can be considered the pinnacle of siege engineering before the advent of gunpowder.
00:08The trebuchet combines both a lever mechanism and a sling mechanism.
00:11According to accounts from ancient and medieval authors,
00:13trebuchets were used to launch stones, incendiary projectiles, and even a kind of biological weapon.
00:19They loaded the carcasses of diseased animals to spread disease in the besieged city.
