ABSTRACT
The Boeotians . . . marched on Delium and attacked the fortifications. They used various means of attack and in the end captured it by bringing up an engine that had been constructed as follows. They sawed an enormous wooden beam into two parts, hollowed out both of them, and then carefully fitted them back together, just like a pipe. They attached a cauldron to one end with chains, and an iron tube was inclined through the hollowed-out beam down into the cauldron. They also covered most of the rest of the wooden beam with iron plates. Using carts they brought the engine from a considerable distance up to the part of the wall that was built mainly of vines and wood. When it was close to the wall they attached large bellows to their end of the beam and blew through them. The draught of air, confined inside the tube, went into the cauldron, which contained lighted coals, sulphur, and pitch. It created an enormous fire that caught hold of the wall, so that no one could remain on it. The defenders leaving their positions took to their heels and the wall was captured in this way.
