Discovering Roman Technology

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• 1. Military might
• 2. Roads and surveying
• 3. Codes and signals
• 4. Food and baths
• 5. The wonderful wheel
• 6. Find out more
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Military might

When the Roman army invaded Britain in force in the spring of AD 43, they brought with them technology that must have astonished the native Celts. To begin with the Roman weapons were far better - they had good swords, spears, and several machines to throw missiles

The manuballista was a hand-cranked catapult that could hurl a bolt with an iron tip. This bolt whistled through the air at some 50 metres per second, and carried a terrifying punch; it would go through armour, and cause instant death.

The onager (named after a wild ass) hurled great rocks, which could demolish wooden buildings.

The Roman armour was also superior; they had both chain mail, which might have been worn by the auxiliaries, though no one is quite sure, and also heavy armour made of overlapping iron plates that would stop anything short of a ballista bolt.

I watched a ballista being fired and was impressed by the sheer power and accuracy. I can well imagine the defending Celts surrendering quickly after seeing the force and accuracy of the Roman artillery.

We also constructed a repeating ballista, which fired bolts one after another automatically. On its first trial we were able to shoot eleven bolts a minute, which is almost four times the rate at which an ordinary ballista can be operated. If the Romans really used these they must have frightened the pants off the enemy, although they would also have used ammunition at a prodigious rate!

The Romans brought with them prefabricated forts. There is a reconstructed example at Lunt Fort near Coventry, complete with dovetail and cross-halving joints, cut elsewhere and simply fitted together on site for instant defence.

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Published: 2001-06-01