The earliest representations we have of the crossbow date from 400 BCE, in China. By 209 BCE the Chinese army had 50,000 crossbowmen who fought with mass-produced bronze weapons. These crossbows, ...

In addition to the crossbow, Byzantine archers used composite bows, which had already been in use for centuries. The legacy of archery in the Ancient Near East is still felt today. While bows have ...

This wooden crossbow is constructed out of ash. The body consists of two sturdy beams separated by spacers. The cross, which goes through the front of the body, is a thinner piece of ash that is ...