Historic Weapon Unearthed in Croatia

LOZOVAC, CROATIA—Croatia Week reports that an artillery weapon was found in a defensive wall in a tower at the fourteenth-century site of Nečven fortress, which is located in southern Croatia’s Krka National Park. The bronze object, known as a mačkula, is similar to a mortar and was used to attack fortified settlements. This one is thought to date to the seventeenth or eighteenth century. Nečven fortress overlooks the Krka canyon, and is connected to the Trošenj fortress on the other canyon wall by a 1,500-foot-long pedestrian suspension bridge over the Krka River. Both structures were built by powerful families as part of a medieval defense system. For more on historical artillery, go to "Weapons of the Ancient World: Siege Weapons."