The Claw of Archimedes was an ancient weapon devised by Archimedes to defend the seaward portion of Syracuse's city wall against amphibious assault. Although its exact nature is unclear, the accounts of ancient historians seem to describe it as a sort of crane equipped with a grappling hook that was able to lift attacking ships partly out of the water, then either cause the ship to capsize or suddenly drop it. The bayonet is used as both knife and spear. ... Archimedes (Greek: ; c. ... Syracuse (Italian, Siracusa, ancient Syracusa - see also List of traditional Greek place names) is a city on the eastern coast of Sicily and the capital of the province of Syracuse, Italy. ... The defensive wall of Braşov, Romania. ... Amphibious Assault began when 17-year-old, former Kittie guitarist, Fallon Bowman was on a plane from Ontario to New Jersey, skimming through a Tom Clancy novel when she came upon the term amphibious assault. ... A tower crane with a pivoted main boom Cranes on the Sheksna River, Cherepovets, Russia A worker telecommanding a crane from the ground A crane is a tower or derrick equipped with cables and pulleys that can be used both to lift and lower materials and to shift them horizontally. ... A grappling hook is a composite hook attached to a rope, designed to be thrown or projected a distance, where its hooks will engage with the target. ...

These machines featured prominently during the Second Punic War in 213 BC, when the Roman Republic attacked Syracuse with a fleet of at least 120 Quinqueremes under Marcus Claudius Marcellus. When the Roman fleet approached the city walls under cover of darkness, the machines were deployed, sinking many ships and throwing the attack into confusion. Historians such as Polybius and Livy attributed the Romans' defeat to these machines, together with catapults also devised by Archimedes. Combatants Roman Republic Carthage Commanders Publius Cornelius Scipio†, Tiberius Sempronius Longus Publius Cornelius Scipio Africanus, Gaius Flaminius†, Fabius Maximus, Claudius Marcellus†, Lucius Aemilius Paullus†, Gaius Terentius Varro, Marcus Livius Salinator, Gaius Claudius Nero, Gnaeus Cornelius Scipio Calvus†, Masinissa, Minucius+, Geminus+, Regulus+ Hannibal Barca, Hasdrubal Barca†, Mago Barca†, Hasdrubal Gisco†, Maharbal... Centuries: 4th century BC - 3rd century BC - 2nd century BC Decades: 260s BC 250s BC 240s BC 230s BC 220s BC - 210s BC - 200s BC 190s BC 180s BC 170s BC 160s BC Years: 218 BC 217 BC 216 BC 215 BC 214 BC - 213 BC - 212 BC 211 BC... This article is becoming very long. ... A quinquireme was a galley, a warship propelled by oars, developed from the earlier trireme. ... Marcus Claudius Marcellus (c. ... Polybius (c. ... A portrait of Titus Livius made long after his death. ... This article is about the medieval siege weapon. ...

The plausibility of this invention was tested on the television show Superweapons of the Ancient World by bringing in a group of engineers to try and conceive of, design and implement a design that was realistic given what we know about Archimedes. Within seven days they were able to test their creation. They did indeed succeed in tipping a model of a Roman ship over so that it would sink. While this does not prove the existence of the Claw, it does, at least, demonstrate its possibility.

External links

• A Formidable War Machine: Construction and Operation of Archimedes' Iron Hand A paper describing the authors' ideas of the Claw of Archimedes, together with scale models of the Claw's operation. (Also at [1])

• Polybius History