Talking about backyard projects John sent me this great link, its a Ballista For Sale
An expertly created Roman siege catapult – the only one of its kind.
Yes, this is for real. We are selling a full-size Roman siege catapult (or ballista), which we believe to be the only one of its kind (for at least 2000 years).
The catapult was recreated by a team of experts, following all known records, as accurately as possible – and then successfully fired. It was created for the BBC, for a programme called Building the Impossible, in 2002. It was built by the timber-frame team at Carpenter Oak & Woodland.
The ballista weighs approx 12 tons so postage or even buyer collection is not an option. Fully built, it is approx 7.5 metres tall and 8.5 metres long.
You can find more about how it was built on the Carpenter Oak & Woodland website
Anyway you have 9 days to bid for it but it starts at £25,000.00, so get bidding.