Bowls used to crush and grind substances with a pestle, or short cannons that fire shells at high angles.
From Latin 'mortarium' meaning 'a mixture' or 'a bowl.' The military weapon sense emerged in the 1400s because the device's shape resembled the grinding bowl.
Medieval mortar artillery revolutionized warfare because it could fire shells up and over castle walls instead of just battering them directly—the curved trajectory made fortress walls obsolete and changed military architecture forever.
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