The defeat of the Roman army at Cannae (216 BCE), during the Second Punic War, resulted in Carthaginian troops continuing to be stationed in Magna Graecia up until military operations in Italy were abandoned in 203 BCE. In just a few years, Hannibal managed to weaken Rome’s influence over the Greek cities of the Ionian coast by forging an alliance with Taranto and conquering Metaponto, Thurii and – following a violent sece in 212 BCE – Heraclea. The architectural fragments and stone bullets on display testify to this last destructive event, as well as to the use of the most advanced siege machines (such as ballistae) developed by the armies of the Hellenistic kingdoms from the Fourth Century BCE. The architectural fragments and stone bullets on display testify to this last destructive event and to the use of the most advanced siege machines (as the ballistae),which were developed by the Hellenistic kingdoms’ armies starting from the Fourth century BCE