Reflection:Zhi Sheng

I think that the romans are old fashion. However, their weapons are adapted in close combat because of their high defence and attack. Their spears might be long, but the enemy might be able to kill them from far distances. But if the romans can improve on their speed, they might be able to rush up to the enemy and kill them easily.

Reflection:Ervin Quek

From this project i learnt that the romans are better on offense than on defense. They have small and light weight items so they are better in closed range battle than in long range battle.

Reflection:Dion Chew

Through this project,i learnt about the different kinds of roman weapons and how they were used. I was already very interested in roman weapons last time, this project helped me to understand about all the weapons. Also, i learnt that Roman weapons were all very nice and most of them are sharp instead of guns people use now.

Reflections: Lex Phua

From this project,I learnt that the Romans are more offensive in battle than defensive. As they have a wide variety of weapons ranging from daggers to swords to spears. The only defensive weapons they have is the caltrop which slows the advancement of enemies by piercing their foot.

Tribulus

Caltrop, line drawing
A tribulus (caltrop) is a weapon made up of four sharp nails or spines arranged in such a manner that one of them always points upward from a stable base (for example, a tetrahedron). Caltrops serve to slow down the advance of horses, war elephants, and human troops. It was said to be particularly effective against the soft feet of camels.

The legionary wore his sword high on the right side of his body. This enabled it to be drawn underarm with his right hand without interfering with the shield which he carried in his left.

Pilium- throwing spear

A soldier carried two spears to throw at the enemy. The spears were just over two metres* long and they were designed to bend and stick in the enemy's shield so he cannot use it to protect himself. They were difficult to pull out and will bend on impact, so they couldn't be thrown back at the attacking Roman soldiers.

History project about Roman Weapons

Although Romans often used the word pila to refer to all thrown javelins, the term pilum also means specifically the heavy Roman throwing spear of the legions. Lighter, shorter javelins existed, such as those used by the velites and the early legions. They specifically were called veruta.

Spatha could be any sword (in late Latin) but most often one of the longer swords characteristic of the middle and late Roman Empire. In the 1st Century, Roman Cavalry started using these longer swords.

Hasta is a Latin word meaning a thrusting spear. Hastae were carried by early Roman Legionaries, in particular they were carried by and gave their name to those Roman soldiers known as Hastati.

Gladius became the general Latin word for " spanish sword". In the Roman Republic it referred (and refers today) specifically to the short sword, 60 cm (24 inches) long, used by Roman legionaries from the 3rd century BC.


Pugio was a small dagger used by Roman soldiers. It was probably a sidearm. Like other items of legionary equipment, the dagger underwent some changes during the 1st century. Generally, it had a large, leaf-shaped blade 18 to 28 cm long and 5 cm or more in width.