HAY-ON-WYE, WALES—BBC News reports the discovery of a large thirteenth-century catapult stone during renovation work in the east wing of Hay Castle on the border of England and Wales. The 1-foot-wide stone weighs nearly 63 pounds and would have been shot from a wooden catapult known as a trebuchet, a siege engine that was first employed in Britain around 1217. In addition to stones, assailants would also fire burning objects, human bodies and excrement, and dead animals at castle walls. According to the Hay Castle Trust, the stone might date to the Barons’ War (1263–1266), one of the documented sieges of the castle that occurred during the 1200s. To read about the recent discovery of a medieval fortification in Wales, go to “The Marks of Time: Medieval Castle.”
