During siege warfare, which countermeasure reduced effectiveness of Roman ballista siege engines targeting city walls?

💡 Explanation

When ballista projectiles impacted walls, slanted masonry aprons diverted and deflected projectiles transferring tangential momentum because this changed the effective angle of incidence, reducing penetration. Therefore aprons reduced ballista effectiveness, rather than soaking, moats, or passageways which mitigate alternate attack forms.

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