The Romans used various weapons and methods to destroy an
army by the masses instead of individual combat. Many of these methods required
teamwork, tactics, and use of shields. Even when the enemy had a slight
advantage of location, such as a tower, the Romans found ways to overcome their
disadvantages by use of stout beams and shields. The most destructive heavy machinery of all was the onager,
wild ass, which was known for its hefty kick. It consisted of a massive
catapult, which had the ability of dispatching large boulders or 12 ft. beams up
to 440 yards. Ten catapults were allotted to each legion. Each legion was made
up of 80-100 men. Catapults, scoripions or ballistae were names for
the same machine. It was a diminutive version of the onager and served
the purpose of later day cross bows and field guns. This machine allowed the
Romans to throw a mass of nine in. bolts into the advancing enemy troops. One
historical event accounted a man wedged with a grim bolt in his backbone. When enemies attacked from towers, the Romans attempted to
break down the enemies’ barrier with a large beam called a ram, which had a
shape of a ram’s head at the tip. However, since the enemies would be
projecting stones from these towers, this machine was covered with shields that
were held up by the Romans. They named this method the tortoise since the
external potion of this machine was covered in shields as the “head” portion
would try to ram against the enemies’ wall. The Romans also had towers that could drop on top of the
enemy wall and allow the soldiers to cross into the city. These machines were
all built from use of stout beams. —Heavy Weapons
Communication. It’s such a simple word, yet so crucial to the survival of civilization as we know it. Nowadays, one can hardly exist without being in constant touch with the rest of the world over the internet, or by calling their loved ones over a phone. The military also has thousands of codes they have used over the years, in an attempt to keep their movements and actions secret from the opposing sides. Computers generate complex systems of disguising text, replacing words with infinite amounts of numbers, symbols, or even sounds. Morse code seems ancient, yet we forget that there was a time when signals did not travel across wires. “Two if by sea, one if by land” or something along those lines is a quote from only 200 or so years ago, referring to the use of torches. Could it be a surprise that communication styles like these were used as far back as the time of the Roman Empire? The Romans had a very clever system of communication based on the use of flags. On Hadrian’s Wall, an alphabetic system was used based on two groups of five flags, which allowed them to send messages letter by letter. One would simply raise the correct number of flags for a few moments in order for the recipient to be sure of their position, and then switch to the position of the next letter.
Though sending full messages may have taken some time, it was efficient for the time. On top of a wall, the signals could be seen from very far away, and could be crucial in organizing militaristic movements. It was effective enough that the English developed their own form of it during the time of the American Revolution.
Talk about spanning the ages. The Romans also had a coded system, which could display one of a dozen fixed messages. This also depended on the positioning of flags. One would raise a flag to signal the next station that you were about to convey a message. One would then lower the flag and raise it again, both the messenger and its recipient starting a little water clock the second time the flag was raised. When the messenger’s clock reached the point relating to the signal he wanted to send, he would then lower the flag. The recipient would stop his clock when he saw the flag go down. Since only twelve different commands could be given, it was usually very clear as to which command the messenger was sending. Both would have identical water clocks and code books, so confusion was rare. These ingenious methods of communication served the Romans well, and prove that they were far ahead of their time. It took centuries for humans to find seriously more efficient and effective coding technology than these.—
Ryan Acquaotta
If the sundial has failed you, as it has failed everyone else, in keeping your day flowing in a timely schedule, try using a clepsydra. What is a clepsydra, you ask? It is none other than a Roman water clock, similar to the ones used in Egypt. Upon first glance at a clepsydra, one will only see a box with a clock that indicates the hour. However, inside this “timely” marvel, there is a glass cylinder full of water, in which the water ran out through a small hole into a wooden container on the bottom of the box. Attached to the box, is a form of a crank system where the hand on the clock turns when the water level rises. The face of the clock is usually made of glass with markings that are scratched on the outside of the glass.
What are the disadvantages to using a sundial instead of a water clock? The sundial, hence the name, uses the rise and setting of the sun to indicate the hour of the day. The faulty nature of this method is the inconstant measures of each indicated hour on the sundial. For example, an hour of a summer’s day is longer than an hour of a winter’s day. With the water clock, each individual hour is approximately the same as the next hour and does not depend on the inconstant forces of nature.
Another disadvantage of the sundial is the lack of efficiency of such equipment compared to the efficiency of a water clock. When sundials were first introduced to Rome from Greek cities, they did not work as well as they did in Greece. The Romans had to adjust the positions and locations of the sundial for it to work properly in Italy. Obviously, all this time and effort in trying to make use of the sundial are not compensated by its ability to tell the time. Therefore, obtain a clepsydra instead of using a faulty sundial.
—Chad Kim
The Emperor Hadrian is considered by many to be one of the finest Emperors in all of Rome’s great history. Curiously, he devoted a good portion of planning and effort to the construction of a great wall in northern Roman territory. His motives were for the security of Rome and for greater control over the overlaying countryside. Much effort went into the structure of this wall, and it was built heavily as is common of Roman architecture.
Every Roman mile along the Wall there was a milecastle, a fortified gateway which allowed Roman soldiers to go on patrol to the north of Hadrian’s Wall and control other people passing through the Wall.
Between the milecastles were two turrets at regular intervals from which soldiers could keep watch over the surrounding countryside. During the building it was decided to add forts to the plan of the Wall. In fact some of the turrets and sections of wall that had already been built were demolished to make room for the new forts. There were 16 forts in total along the length of the Wall. These meant that even more Roman soldiers were based along the wall and the frontier was more effectively controlled.
Hadrian’s Wall was not meant to be defended like a castle. Instead it was a barrier that allowed Roman soldiers to control the movements of people coming into or leaving Roman Britain. This allowed the Roman army to make sure that troublemakers could not move easily either north or south.
The Wall was also a good place to keep a watch over the frontier. The turrets and milecastles allowed Roman soldiers to watch what was happening along the whole length of the frontier.—Scott Jacobsen
[third century bc]
Your children’s future is in your hands. If your hands are those of a farmer, your son will live and die clenched in a soiled, weathered fist. If they are feminine hands, your daughter will never escape grip of household chores and childbearing responsibilities. It’s about time to hand your children their own choice.
It is necessary to realize that the days of Cato the Elder and Aemilius Paulus are over, and there is no longer the need to teach your children how to live your life. The growth of our empire calls for change, which lies in new schools that are being established. If there is not one near your household, there will be. Simply find a facility resembling a simple shop on the nearest busy street; if you look inside, you will see one teacher and many simple benches with seated children, and you will know that this is the place for your child. Employing educated Greek slaves, these facilities are ideal ways to teach your sons and daughters the ways of the world around them. As wealth pours into Rome, there are hopes of further advancing this system. Already, higher standards are being set, and education in fields such as oratory and philosophy is able to be received by the young generation.
We must release our tyrannical grip of the future and see what is really ahead. Rome should fall to the stagnant, unchanging ideals of the past; instead, let it flourish in the hands of our children, those of reading, writing, arithmetic, and perhaps someday history, geography, physics, rhetoric, astronomy, and poetry. Liberate your children to a better education, for them, for us, and for Rome.
--Mariya Masyukova
As the Roman Empire expanded, the convenience of a local stream or well began to diminish. City authorities decided that the water should be brought from neighboring hills near Rome. Engineers found a suitable water source and created a shallow stone channel to manipulate the direction of the water. This was a structure called an aqueduct.
In order to distribute all the water to the towns, a route had to be chosen. Many times, the length of the aqueduct would surpass the distance between a town and its water supply. Occasionally, the aqueducts had to pass through a ravine or river valley. In these situations, the water would be directed by a bridge.
To use as few stones as possible when building the aqueduct, the Romans built a series of massive stone arches, connecting them with a flat stone bed. Next, a second, smaller series of arches was mounted followed by a third row of even smaller stones. The water flowed at the very top of this massive arch.
Despite the conserved use of stones, the arches were solidly built. The arches at the bottom stood on foundations thirty feet apart from each other. The distance between the foundations of the second row of arches measured fifteen feet and the distance of the third row of arches was ten feet. The height of this structure is about 160 feet.
Many complications that surfaced were balanced by the obvious advantages the aqueducts supplied. Bathhouses, lavatories, and fountains could be supplied with water so that people could bathe, have a bathroom, and collect water for their apartments.
However, illegal water tapping occurred due to the business the slaves who were hired to watch the aqueducts had started. Also, since the pressure of the flowing water was often not strong enough, water supply varied according to the location of the source and the relative position of the city. Some areas that were elevated above their sources did not have a rich supply when compared to areas closer to sea level.—
Chad Kim
There is no finer example of architectural marvel which rivals that of the Colosseum. Shaped like a modern football stadium it can seat 45,000 and accommodate 15,000 more standing spectators. Four stories and 161 feet high, 600 feet long, and 500 feet wide it truly is colossal. Events are held here such as fights between gladiators and animals, live naval battles, and truly anything an emperor wishes to show his people can be created.
How exactly some of the great events which were held in this building the technology of Rome allowed for are still a mystery, yet ever since Vespasian finished building his pet in 80AD stories of its marvel have spread throughout the world. The arches which are seen on the outside were built by using wooden supports, and then placing stone around them. Without any sort of glue or nails these blocks of stone literally support themselves. There are 82 entrance ways and corridors, most are for the general public two are for the emperor and two are for gladiators and animals. Trap doors in the floor of the arena can be released at the whim of a slave to release an angry lion upon an unsuspecting gladiator, and the arena itself can be flooded (something which is a huge secret of the industry and the instructions of which will not be released). In all the coliseum appeased many a sadistic Roman for centuries by giving us the blood shed we so desperately wanted to see.
—
Yelena Shvarts