Product Details

• Format: Closed-captioned, Color, NTSC
• Rated: NR (Not Rated)
• Number of tapes: 1
• Studio: Wgbh Boston
• VHS Release Date: October 17, 2000
• Run Time: 60 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B00004R60W
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #292,786 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)

Editorial Reviews

The Scots inside Stirling Castle must have felt untouchable. Protected by a massive stone fortress, they prepared for a long drawn-out siege against the army of England’s Edward the First. Fifty carpenters worked day and night to create the fourteenth century version of the atom bomb: the trebuchet—a fearsome, gravity-powered catapult dubbed "Warwolf" that was capable of hurling boulders, bee hives and plague-infected corpses long distances. Travel back to the Middle Ages and relive a fascinating turning point in warfare and medieval history. - Enter the battlefield and experience the chaos of medieval warfare—200 years before the invention of the cannon - Discover how the mechanized catapult sent English history and warfare in different directions - Enter gigantic medieval castles and explore why these mighty fortresses became vulnerable to the "Warwolf" - See how the medieval manuscripts provided clues in the trebuchet mystery - See medieval experts create two competing full-scale catapults - Travel to the banks of Loch Ness as newly designed catapults attempt to destroy a castle wall with 250 pound stone balls Secrets of Lost Empires II Unlock mysteries and uncover lost history with the experts as they use yesteryear’s thrilling technology to recreate five ancient engineering marvels and to discover what daily life was really like in these communities. Travel around the globe from Egypt to Rome and take a fresh, "hands-on" look at mankind’s greatest cultures and civilizations. It’s history from a whole new point of view!

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars For mouth agape tv viewing..., October 11, 2000

By 

Moviegal "KCC" (Carolina) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Secrets of the Lost Empires II: Medieval Siege [VHS] (VHS Tape)

This it IT! I have been waiting for NOVA to release this episode on video. Get this tape! I can't imagine anyone not being spellbound by the process of constructing these ancient machines of war; the scholarship, the research, the craftsmanship and just the coolness of seeing these huge machines fling their payloads into a castle wall is too amazing! Want a taste of what you will learn? OK, ponder this - the wheels on these catapults are not for transportation!

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars MORE POWER!, May 18, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Secrets of the Lost Empires II: Medieval Siege [VHS] (VHS Tape)

This is one of the most entertaining and educational shows PBS has ever run. While it has the normal amount of science presented in the typical Nova narrative style, it also has some truly outrageous visuals--I actually laughed out loud a few times at the sight of these immense machines hurling 250-lb balls at a castle wall.

Having the tape is a no-brainer, but now I want to build my own trebuchet.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Truly amazing!, February 11, 2000

By 

Samuel D Lewallen (Beaverton, Oregon) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Secrets of the Lost Empires II: Medieval Siege [VHS] (VHS Tape)

This is a very well-done documentary about two midieval historians who take on a mission: given two weeks, build a trebuchet and use it to knock a hole in a 5-foot thick castle wall 200 yards distant.

The documentary covers the little known history of this amazing siege weapon, and let me tell you, it's really incredible seeing these contraptions chucking 250-pound stones around. One of the historians has build a smaller-scale model that throws small upright pianos and 55-gallon drums of flaming napalm, and the other has built an even smaller scale model that throws rocks across an indoor hall. The bigger of the two full-size ones is almost 5 stories high!

The other episodes in this series are good also, but there's just something truly amazing about watching these wood-and-rope machines knocking holes in big walls.

At the end, one of the historians observes (in a cultured British accent): "I think it's plain that given a team of builders and a couple of weeks, you can knock a castle into powder."