Got a Real World Weapons or Armour Question? Mk XII

[Brother Oni]

The testudo has always struck me as a horrible formation to actually fight from.

Having been in one (we were using kite shields rather than scutums though), I agree that it's very difficult to fight from and very slow going.

It's very good at getting you close to missile troops though, thus they can approach the initial gate in relative safety.

Looking up some more information, the Romans appeared to have employed an armoured wheeled battering ram of some sort also called a testudo:

Spoiler

Show

From what I know of later versions of such siege engines, they can be very to stop without some sort of boiling/flaming liquid, unsuitable terrain or the defenders sallying out to kill the crew.

The Romans were clearly perfectly capable of breaking a hill-fort, since they did it. I never denied that, merely that it was a laughable obstacle rendered obsolete by siege engines.

Alas without more detailed records of battles, we're limited to what we can replicate in computer games and experiments by rich crazy people eccentrics.

Speculation time - what type of siege weapon in your opinion would render hill forts obsolete?
I'm thinking trebuchets, although I'm inclined to think that the much later mortars would be required based of fusilier's comment.

According to wikipedia, it seems the societal changes prompted the demise of hill forts rather than military obsoleteness.