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Ancient Engineering SeriesMANGONEL.com
Ballistic Technologies of Antiquity

Desktop Onager, in Red Oak

Cut from solid Red Oak!


Designed and made in the USA for
better quality, better performance!


This version of the kit is cut from high quality Red Oak instead of the whitewood (Poplar) used in the other version of this item.

This awesome little machine is the perfect desktop item to enforce the peace in your cubicle or dorm room. It really works!

This all wood and twine machine has no metal parts! Find out how the ancients were able to use nothing but wood and ropes to build machines that could hurl heavy stones great distances. These machines were the predecessors of cannons and modern artillery!

Measuring nine inches long, six inches tall and using the mighty torsion skein for power, this beast hurls wooden balls (included) up to twenty feet across the room. Food fight? Load it up with olives, marshmallows, maraschino cherries... the choices are endless!

Simple and easy to build. This kit includes everything you need except for glue and a few simple tools like scissors, sandpaper, a file (a utility knife would be helpful too) and about two or three hours of your time from start to finish. It's a far better use of your time than watching TV, and you'll have a really
cool desk ornament when you're done. And don't forget, it not only looks cool- but unlike those other little desktop catapults we've collected, this one really works! (It works well too.)

Features include:

  • Precision cut from high quality solid red oak
  • Authentic leather padded strike bar
  • True skein torsion power- not a wimpy spring
  • Range from 10 to 20 feet or more!

What you get:
The kit includes seventeen wooden parts, one hardware bag containing twine, trigger, wooden pegs and ammo, and assembly instructions.

The instructions are highly detailed and complete with full-color photos and historical notes. This kit can be assembled to a finished model in two to three hours, plus glue-drying time. Some light sanding may be required to smooth any rough edges.

We've put a lot of time and effort into making this kit as easy and complete as possible. It's a fun way to learn about history and engineering!


* Warning: This is a representative model of a real ancient military weapon. Use only with competent adult supervision.
* Shown stained as red oak. The kit ships as a natural, unfinished poplar wood product. Colors may vary.
* Can throw 20 feet when properly constructed and using appropriate missiles. Your performance may vary.

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Interesting Notes

What is a Mangonel?


The term "mangonel" literlally means "engine of war." It is a ballistic device, usually some type of artillery. In other words, a catapult. But "catapult" is a more general word that includes a broad range of things that use mechanical means to shoot a projectile, including slingshots and aircraft carrier launch systems. So a mangonel is a unique type of catapult.

The word Mangonel derives from the ancient Greek word "Manganon", literally meaning "engine of war". The Romans called it a Manganum. In pre-medieval French the word Manganum was changed to Manganeau, and the English changed that to Mangonel in the 1300s.

The history gets a little sketchy in the middle ages, but some historians believe that "mangonel" was shortened to the word "gonnel" about the same time that cannons were being developed, and later still, "gonnel" was shortened to "gun." And to this day, in the military a gun is strictly big artillery. (Rifles and pistols are referred to as "weapons", NOT "guns".)

The three most common types of ancient mangonels are the Greek Ballista, The Roman Onager, and the Trebuchet.

In France, the word Mangonel is used for a Trebuchet that uses a fixed counterweight for power. (The other kind of trebuchet, the hanging counterweight type, is called a "Trebuchet". Go figure!)

The English use the term Mangonel and Onager interchangeably for the Roman single-arm torsion machine.

The Greek catapult, probably the first machine to be called a mangonel, was also known as the Ballista and is where we get the word "ballistic".