Guns & Ordnance — 17th century

About this collection

This collection covers 30 guns and ordnance objects from the 17th century, delivered across 241 images in 11 ZIP assets. The 17th century saw artillery become the decisive factor in siege warfare — the English Civil War, the Thirty Years' War, and the later conflicts of the century all demonstrated the growing dominance of artillery. The collection spans the ordnance types used in these defining conflicts.

Why it matters

17th-century artillery sits at a fascinating moment in military technology — cannon had been used in European warfare for over two centuries, but the 17th century saw the first systematic thinking about artillery science and the development of mortar bomb warfare. The Royal Armouries' holdings document these developments comprehensively.

Use cases & time to value

• Military history research: Primary visual source for artillery development, ordnance technology, and siege warfare
• Game & film production design: Accurate cannon, mortar, and ordnance reference for period productions
• AI training: Large-format military hardware dataset for scale and morphology training models
• Publishing & editorial: Ready-to-license museum-quality imagery for works on artillery and ordnance history
• Heritage interpretation: High-quality imagery for exhibitions and publications on the technology of war

Data schema

Collection stats

11 assets · 30 objects · 241 images · 17th century