
A sweeping tour of medieval sieges reveals how hunger, disease, and technology killed more than swords.
The siege of Jerusalem in 70 CE killed enough people to double the city’s population in a single year.
Medieval siege engines often caused more casualties from disease and famine than from battlefield damage.
Barbarian sappers used tiny tunnels that collapsed entire fortress walls, sometimes burying hundreds inside.
Ravens and smoke signals were used to communicate nutrient-rich plantings to besieging armies, inadvertently feeding outbreaks.

A sweeping tour of medieval sieges reveals how hunger, disease, and technology killed more than swords.
The siege of Jerusalem in 70 CE killed enough people to double the city’s population in a single year.
Medieval siege engines often caused more casualties from disease and famine than from battlefield damage.
Barbarian sappers used tiny tunnels that collapsed entire fortress walls, sometimes burying hundreds inside.
Ravens and smoke signals were used to communicate nutrient-rich plantings to besieging armies, inadvertently feeding outbreaks.
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