Paper short abstract

Experimental way to approach Khmer double-opposite-bows crossbows figured on the reliefs of the Bayon and Banteay-Chhmar temples.

Paper long abstract

Recorded and published for the first time by G. Groslier in the early twentieth century, double-opposite-bows crossbows from buddhist temples of Bayon and Banteay-Chhmar, were only slightly studied. Perhaps from China, these remarkable weapons are almost absent in the history of weapons and were hastily considered as siege weapons. The way the highest form, the Banteay-Chhmar model, was operated had never been understood. Experimental archeology has allowed us to restore the way these devices were operated and to understand that it is dedicated to the moving fight.