1 00:00:03,279 --> 00:00:05,640 Speaker 1: Welcome to Stuff to Blow Your Mind, a production of 2 00:00:05,640 --> 00:00:10,080 Speaker 1: My Heart Radio. Hi, my name is Robert Lamb and 3 00:00:10,119 --> 00:00:13,119 Speaker 1: this is the Artifact. A short form series from Stuff 4 00:00:13,119 --> 00:00:17,040 Speaker 1: to Blow Your Mind, focusing in on particular objects, ideas, 5 00:00:17,079 --> 00:00:20,680 Speaker 1: and moments in time. There's nothing quite like a good 6 00:00:20,840 --> 00:00:25,200 Speaker 1: siege sequence in a fantasy or historic motion picture. As 7 00:00:25,239 --> 00:00:28,520 Speaker 1: those within a castle or walled city defend themselves against 8 00:00:28,600 --> 00:00:33,560 Speaker 1: incursion from the army encamped just beyond their fortifications, each 9 00:00:33,600 --> 00:00:37,640 Speaker 1: side employs various tactics, clever and cruel, to turn the 10 00:00:37,680 --> 00:00:41,479 Speaker 1: tide of battle. These include the use of fantastic siege 11 00:00:41,520 --> 00:00:44,760 Speaker 1: engines and siege towers on the part of the besiegers, 12 00:00:45,280 --> 00:00:49,479 Speaker 1: while the besieged have the benefit of their existing fortification. 13 00:00:50,200 --> 00:00:53,120 Speaker 1: One of the key advantages of the besieged is that 14 00:00:53,320 --> 00:00:56,400 Speaker 1: you wouldn't have to waste arrows on enemy soldiers trying 15 00:00:56,440 --> 00:00:59,560 Speaker 1: to batter down the door. You wouldn't even need to 16 00:00:59,600 --> 00:01:03,520 Speaker 1: mess with burning oil, as military historian Dr bred C. 17 00:01:03,880 --> 00:01:07,319 Speaker 1: Devereaux points out in his excellent blog A Collection of 18 00:01:07,400 --> 00:01:11,000 Speaker 1: Unmitigated Pedantry in a critique of the Siege of Gondor. 19 00:01:11,360 --> 00:01:14,560 Speaker 1: In two thousand threes, film adaptation of the Return of 20 00:01:14,560 --> 00:01:18,520 Speaker 1: the King. Burning oil was used historically, but boiled water 21 00:01:18,600 --> 00:01:22,240 Speaker 1: and sand were cheaper choices, and nothing lands quite as 22 00:01:22,280 --> 00:01:26,280 Speaker 1: well as a rock turned via gravity into a murderous weapon. 23 00:01:26,840 --> 00:01:29,560 Speaker 1: Fortresses were even designed with special apertures through which to 24 00:01:29,640 --> 00:01:33,360 Speaker 1: drop such objects on the enemy. The mertry air or 25 00:01:33,440 --> 00:01:36,600 Speaker 1: murder hole was found in the ceiling of a fortress's 26 00:01:36,640 --> 00:01:40,640 Speaker 1: gateway or passageway. He created a psychological threat to any 27 00:01:40,720 --> 00:01:43,280 Speaker 1: enemy that might pass underneath it, as well as a 28 00:01:43,480 --> 00:01:47,200 Speaker 1: very real means of dropping things on the enemy. Fortress 29 00:01:47,240 --> 00:01:53,160 Speaker 1: walls featured similar apertures. Maticulations looked roughly like stone cabinets 30 00:01:53,160 --> 00:01:55,440 Speaker 1: affixed to the outside of a fortress, and they gave 31 00:01:55,480 --> 00:01:58,280 Speaker 1: defenders a protected place from which to drop all manner 32 00:01:58,280 --> 00:02:02,600 Speaker 1: of terrifying and deadly things on the besiegers. For attackers, 33 00:02:02,640 --> 00:02:05,960 Speaker 1: these holes were quite difficult to fire arrows into, but 34 00:02:06,040 --> 00:02:09,240 Speaker 1: as renaer ats Back points out in the legend of 35 00:02:09,320 --> 00:02:12,359 Speaker 1: hot tar or pitch as a defensive weapon, the use 36 00:02:12,440 --> 00:02:15,600 Speaker 1: of both sorts of murder hole declined during the fifteenth 37 00:02:15,600 --> 00:02:19,359 Speaker 1: and sixteenth century parallel to the spread of hand firearms. 38 00:02:19,680 --> 00:02:23,000 Speaker 1: It simply became all too easy for the besiegers to 39 00:02:23,120 --> 00:02:32,240 Speaker 1: swiftly and more accurately fire back up. The whole Xbox 40 00:02:32,320 --> 00:02:36,040 Speaker 1: chiefly discusses the use of boiling tar, however, and concludes 41 00:02:36,160 --> 00:02:39,400 Speaker 1: the high temperature and the production of non porable pitch 42 00:02:39,440 --> 00:02:42,800 Speaker 1: in the heating process would have made its use quite difficult, 43 00:02:43,200 --> 00:02:45,880 Speaker 1: and they conclude that the rise of tar and feathering 44 00:02:45,880 --> 00:02:48,720 Speaker 1: as a means of public torture and punishment may have 45 00:02:48,880 --> 00:02:52,680 Speaker 1: fostered the legend of its use as a widespread defensive weapon. 46 00:02:53,280 --> 00:02:57,000 Speaker 1: Far better and simpler to simply drop rocks through your 47 00:02:57,080 --> 00:03:00,640 Speaker 1: murder hole. Again, gravity is generally on the side of 48 00:03:00,680 --> 00:03:04,040 Speaker 1: whoever holds the high ground in a siege, a situation 49 00:03:04,320 --> 00:03:08,680 Speaker 1: quite similar to the idea of orbital superiority in interplanetary war. 50 00:03:09,320 --> 00:03:12,200 Speaker 1: If one were to besiege an entire planet, the gravity 51 00:03:12,240 --> 00:03:16,120 Speaker 1: advantage would be reversed. An orbital attacker wouldn't have to 52 00:03:16,240 --> 00:03:19,760 Speaker 1: rain nuclear weapons down on the enemy planet. All they 53 00:03:19,919 --> 00:03:25,679 Speaker 1: need is mass telephone pole size tungsten rods, captured asteroids, 54 00:03:25,919 --> 00:03:28,720 Speaker 1: or even spare ship parts could be dropped in a 55 00:03:28,800 --> 00:03:34,040 Speaker 1: kinetic bombardment. Such tactics would create nuclear weapons style impacts. 56 00:03:34,400 --> 00:03:39,080 Speaker 1: Without nuclear weapons style fallout, high ground may be difficult 57 00:03:39,080 --> 00:03:42,720 Speaker 1: to overcome, but as Devereaux points out sieges were ultimately 58 00:03:42,720 --> 00:03:46,800 Speaker 1: a contest of collective will quote. Far more cities and 59 00:03:46,920 --> 00:03:50,760 Speaker 1: castles were taken by surrender or else by betrayal than 60 00:03:50,840 --> 00:04:00,240 Speaker 1: were ever taken by storm. Tune into additional editions of 61 00:04:00,280 --> 00:04:03,240 Speaker 1: the artifact each week. As always, you can email us 62 00:04:03,400 --> 00:04:14,320 Speaker 1: at contact it's stuff to Blow your Mind dot com. 63 00:04:14,400 --> 00:04:16,240 Speaker 1: Stuff to Blow Your Mind is a production of I 64 00:04:16,320 --> 00:04:19,200 Speaker 1: heart Radio. For more podcasts from my heart Radio, visit 65 00:04:19,240 --> 00:04:21,800 Speaker 1: the i heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you 66 00:04:21,839 --> 00:04:23,080 Speaker 1: listen to your favorite shows.