This chapter examines the role of technology in Late Antiquity. It challenges the traditional view that the period was marked by technological stagnation. It argues that instead of focusing solely on innovation, historians should consider the continued use, adaptation and repurposing of existing technologies. It also highlights the survival and refinement of older methods, emphasising that technological choices were often influenced by social, political and environmental factors rather than pure efficiency. One of the chapter’s central discussions focuses on military technology, particularly the development of catapults. Analysing textual sources such as Vegetius’ Epitoma rei militaris and De rebus bellicis alongside archaeological evidence, the study reveals that military engineering remained highly sophisticated. The construction of catapults, their adaptation for different battlefield scenarios, and the organisation of state-run fabricae (weapons workshops) demonstrate that technological knowledge continued to be refined. Additionally, the chapter critiques the historiographical tendency to equate technological progress with economic growth, arguing that many technological decisions were driven by factors beyond economics. It concludes that Late Antiquity was not a period of decline but one of transformation, in which technological continuity and adaptation played a crucial role in maintaining societal structures.

This chapter analyses the concept of technological progress in Greek antiquity. It briefly surveys the historiography of technological progress, in particular Moses Finley’s view and its links with his view of the ancient economy, and more recent reactions to Finley. The chapter charts the idea that technology has helped humankind develop from a semi-brutish state to a more civilised condition in some classical Greek sources, including Greek tragedy, and focusses on the case-study of ancient accounts of catapults, which include a history of discovery and of cumulative improvement. The last section is devoted to the ambiguous morality of technological progress.