Guns are a familiar sight in Gibraltar, both in the streets of the Old Town and in the many batteries where they were originally mounted. These batteries are scattered across the Rock, strategically placed to defend the city, coastline, and approaches.

But how were such massive weapons brought up the steep slopes of the Rock? After all, a gun is a solid piece of metal weighing several tons—far too heavy to simply push uphill. Attempting to do so would have required immense manpower, with the added danger that the gun could slip and crash back down the slope.

Instead, different methods were used depending on the size of the gun and the period in which it was installed:

• Victorian heavy guns – Enormous weapons such as the “mega-gun” at Napier of Magdala Battery were hauled up in separate pieces using steam tractors. Cranes and hoists were used to lift each part individually, before reassembling the gun on site. Similar techniques were employed for the massive 9.2-inch guns at Spur and O’Hara’s Batteries.
• 18th-century guns – Much smaller in size, these could be dragged up the Rock with the help of iron rings still visible today along the road to the Great Siege Tunnels. Special ropes, known as dragropes, were attached to the guns and threaded through the rings. This allowed teams of men to pull the guns in a controlled, straight line up the slope. Depending on the gun’s design, ropes could be secured to the carriage, wheels, or both, often using specially made hooks.

Military manuals of the time describe in detail how dragropes were to be used, and in fact, they are still employed in some contexts even today.

Over the years, a local myth developed that the rings on the Upper Rock had once been used to moor ships at Rosia Bay. This is pure folklore: in reality, the rings were purpose-built for hauling artillery up the Rock.

R. Griffiths, Manual of Standing Gun Drill for the Royal Regiment of Artillery (Woolwich, 1854).

Len Trawin, Early British Quick Firing Artillery: Field and Horse (London 1997).

Gun-ring Prince Edward's Road.

Gun-ring Devil's Gap steps.

Gun-ring Willis's Road.

Gun-ring and explanatory red plaque.