was made from a log of wood, tipped with iron and supported and driven by windlasses or ropes. Once a series of holes had been bored along the length of a wall, the holes were typically filled with rods of dry wood, saturated with sulfur or pitch and then ignited. Bellows could be used to encourage a blaze. Fire ships Fire ships were used on several occasions throughout the period. In 332 BC Alexander the Great laid siege to Tyre, a coastal base of the Phoenicians. In order to bring his siege engines within range, Alexander ordered the construction of moles. The Tyrians responded by attacking the first mole with a large fireship, which destroyed it. A large horse transport ship was packed with cedar torches, pitch, dried brush and other combustibles; above this were suspended cauldrons of sulfur, bitumen and "every sort of material apt to kindle and nourish flame". This was towed to the mole, and lit by the Phoenicians before they jumped overboard and swam away. Another example occurred during the 886 Siege of Paris, when the Vikings filled three warships with combustible material and pulled them upriver in a failed attempt to destroy the Franks' fortified bridges. Fire ships containing straw and powder were also used during the Chinese Battle of Lake Poyang in 1363. Other methods Often ingenious methods were developed for administering the weapons. The 10th-century Olga of Kiev is reported to have tied burning tinder to birds which, when released, flew back to their nests in the hostile town and set them alight. Siege towers and ladders could be fitted with a long, narrow tilting beam at the top, gouged with a groove, so that hot oil and water could be poured down on the enemy defenders during an escalade. During an attack, castle or fortification defenders could launch or pour the substances on the heads of attackers below. This could be done over the battlements, but also through purpose-built holes such as machicolations and murder-holes. Indian records suggest smoke and fire was used defensively within a fortress to confuse and disorient attackers; iron grills could also be heated and used to block passageways. During night attacks, defenders could drop lighted bundles over the walls so the enemy could be seen; Chinese and Muslim sources also describe the light gained by torches hung on the walls. Use against stone castles Stone castles were