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Category Archives: engineering
Don Quijote’s Evil Giants
When you first see the windmills on the great hill of Consuegra you will remember Don Quijote. He thought they weren’t windmills but evil giants standing haughtily in front of him; and he bravely tilted his lance and charged. They … Continue reading
Posted in architecture, Cervantes, engineering, great writers, Spain, travel, windmill
Tagged Consuegra, Don Quijote de la Mancha, Don Quixote, Gustav Doré, La Mancha, Spain, The Man of la Mancha, windmill, windmills
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Great Roman Engineering
One of the most impressive Roman constructions you will ever see is the aqueduct of Segovia, Spain. Aqueduct of Segovia (file photo) It still brings good water down from the mountains fifteen kilometers away. For most of that distance the … Continue reading
Posted in archaeology, engineering, history, Romans, Spain
Tagged aqueduct, famous monuments, history, Roman engineering, Romans, siphon, Spain, Trajan, water
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Old Roman Specularis Mines
Spain used to be a kind of Eldorado. It was fabulously rich in minerals. Rome and Carthage both financied their wars with Spanish gold and silver. Roman gold mine of Las Medulas, Leon, Spain GNFD photo by Rafael Ibez … Continue reading
Posted in 1, archaeology, engineering, mines, mining, Romans, Spain
Tagged graffiti, lapis specularis, Las Médulas, lucerna, Nero, Pliny the Elder, Roman circus, Roman Empire, Roman mines, Rome, Segóbriga, windows
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How Did They Lift Those Stones?
The Egyptians had to construct ramps and pull the blocks up with ropes and brute force. But the Greeks invented the lifting tongs, the block and tackle, and this ingenious wedge device: the Holivela Holivela Most people have never seen … Continue reading
Your Time to Be a Hero 4
The army of Greek mercenaries was armed now and ready to march. Xenophon had been thinking about its formation. “We’ve always marched ahead of our baggage train,” he told the officers, “and it holds us back. Sometimes the vanguard goes … Continue reading
The Crow: or the First Punic War (Part 2)
It wasn’t the Carthaginians that seized Messana. It was a bunch of silly mercenaries. Topography of Sicily (Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license photo by Zamonin) Messana is in Sicily. And just down the island is the city of … Continue reading
Posted in books, engineering, history, literature, old ships, Punic War, Romans, warfare
Tagged Add new tag, ancient history, Carthage, history, Italy, Messana, Polybius, quinquereme, Rome, sailors, ship, shipbuilding, soldiers, warship
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The Crow: or the First Punic War (Part 1)
What if you are a great army but your enemy is a great navy? You know how to march with fine discipline over hill and dale. You pitch a dandy camp, a real fortress with high walls and a ditch, … Continue reading
Posted in books, engineering, history, literature, Punic War, religion, Romans, warfare
Tagged Add new tag, Carthage, corvus, First Punic War, Messana Staits, naval warfare, Romans, sailors, ships, Sicily, soldiers, the Crow, warfare
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