Gaius Duilius and the Corvus The Romans Chapter 2 Case Study The Romans Chapter 2 Case Study
How the corvus worked… 3. Sharp ‘beak’ penetrates enemy hull 2. A System of ropes & pulleys lowers the corvus 1. The corvus, a 4ft by 36 ft bridge on a rotating axle is fitted to the Roman ship 4. The Roman landlubber army fights on a flat surface and the enemy ship is disabled
Images courtesy of Andrew McCabe: This is an excellent website with scholarship of the development of the corvus in a number of sources. Aes grave: ‘heavy bronze’ Both the platform and the sharp beak are visible Aes grave: ‘heavy bronze’ Both the platform and the sharp beak are visible Fighting platform Fighting platform Sharp beak Ramming prow New shape for the beak & platform New shape for the beak & platform Coins minted by the end of the 3 rd C, BC were smaller & more Detailed, with writing to denote a mint: ‘ROMA’
Rostral column reconstruction Prows Anchors ‘MCR - colonna rostrata di C Duilio ’ by Lalupa –. Licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons:
G. Duilius’ dedication of booty at the Rostra, CIL , c. 260 BC, recarved in the early imperial period Note the arcane spellings Captom Captum ‘Captured’ Navaled Navales ‘Ships’ Poplom populum ‘People’
The Republican Forum in the 5 th Century BC Column of Duilius? Senate house Temple of Saturn Temple of Castor Regia Lapis Niger
Proposed location of Temple of Janus Church of St Nicholas in Carcere Theatre of Marcellus Labels added by author. ‘Forum Holitorium - Lancianu ’. Licensed under public domain via Wikimedia Commons:
Image from One of ten ancient ship prows found by the Egadi Island Survey Project (off the coast of Sicily)