The Games Mission: Investigating the Trebuchet

Athletic events at the Olympic Games
include four throwing sports: shot put, javelin, discus and hammer. In shot put
they throw a heavy metal ball called the shot.  It became part of the Olympic
Games in the late 1800s. However, it is said that in the later Middle Ages
soldiers would practice a kind of shot put – they would see who could throw a cannon ball the furthest. 



At Urquhart you will find a machine
that could throw a heavy ball  further than any person could– the trebuchet. This
trebuchet was built by woodworkers in 1998. The board beside it explains how it
works. There were three key parts needed for the trebuchet to throw the heavy
ball.

Can you spot one or all of them on the
Trebuchet?



Rope net                                Throwing arm                                 Counterweight



Tip: The counterweight
was made of a very heavy material; think about where you would need something
heavy.