The Corvus (as pictured above) was vital for the Romans during the First Punic War, Rome were not as skilled of seafarers as the Carthaginians so they developed the handy Corvus. The Corvus was used as a walkway for Roman soldiers during a naval battle. The roman ship would pull alongside the enemy ship and drop the Corvus, and prongs on the underside would punch through the decks of the opposing ship for a good grip. Then the Romans would run across and engage in hand to hand combat to defeat the enemy. As easy and simple it may sound, the Corvus had some drawbacks. If the seas were rough it would make using the Corvus impractical and could damage the host ship. Also another issue was that the Corvus was bulky and any shipped armed with a Corvus sacrificed maneuverability. Shortly after the First Punic War the Corvus was replaced with newer and better ways of boarding a ship.
Another fantastic invention which I personally happen to love is the Ballista!
This beauty was an example of early forms of artillery. The Ballista was originally a Greek designed weapon but when Rome absorbed the Greek city states, they in turn learned about torsion mechanics and well, the Ballista was born. The ballista design varied in size and name but the design principle remained the same. designs such as the Scorpio were used as a "sniper weapon" to pick off troops, where as the Ballista was more of a siege weapon. However apparently the Ballista was still used to pick off troops. Making it versatile like a Howitzer would be in the modern world! Well that's all for now and Coming up soon will be an "about me" post from the both of us. -lopes
