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Battering rams smashed through walls or gates. In the ninth century B.C., battering rams were heavy, six-wheeled vehicles like the one depicted in a relief from Ashurnasirpal II’s palace. A two-in-one threat, this siege engine combined a ram, seen dislodging stones from the city wall, and a moving siege tower, occupied by two soldiers—one shooting an arrow, and the other preparing to hurl a stone as he holds a wicker-work shield to ward off opponents’ weapons.