Questions about units and timeframe

[Zarax]

Just for the sake of historical curiosity if any historian can spare a few minutes to answer...

1) Were gastraphetes still used in EB timeframe?
I know that they were used mainly in sieges but I also think that they could have had some use in the battlefield as their role would have been pretty much the same as the much later crossbowmen, although the construction of their composite "bow" was not the simpliest...

2) I've read around about germanic tribes using throwing axes during Caesar's expeditions in germany, is there any historical thruth in that? I don't have any primary source but what I read claims that throwing axes were pretty effective against legionary armour although with shorter range than the pila.

Thanks for any answer!

[Zarax]

No historian got a chance to answer?
Oh well...

[MarcusAureliusAntoninus]

[paullus]

1) yes, rarely.
2) i dunno.

[Zarax]

Thanks for the short answers, it's better than nothing I guess...

[Imperator]

Those are some tricky questions there. I had thought that Germans didn't use axes that much though, or at least not nearly as much as everyone thinks. Then again, Caesar is pretty reliable so if he says there were throwing axemen, there probably were.