Ancient Roman ‘machine-gun’ damage discovered on Pompeii walls

In 89 B.C.E., Pompeii was besieged by Lucius Cornelius Sulla’s army, leading to its subjugation under the Roman Republic. Recent research has uncovered damage on Pompeii’s walls, possibly from this siege, including marks that may have been made by a polybolos, an ancient repeating dart-thrower. This weapon, described by Philo of Byzantium, was like a giant crossbow with an automatic reloading mechanism. Researchers used modeling to analyze the wall damage, finding patterns consistent with the polybolos, offering new insights into ancient warfare technology. QUESTION: How might the discovery of ancient technologies like the polybolos change our understanding of historical warfare and innovation?