Coppicing trees for spear shafts and other tools

[Matt Lukes]

Salve Matt!

I will disagree with you there, as the Romans did not move into virgin territory or primeval forest. Large parts of Europe were settled by Iron age people and we know they did use land-management techniques such as clipped hedges as cattle boundaries, Celtic fields and burning charcoal for their furnaces and having firewood at hand near their settlements. In fact, even Caesar comments on this. Coppicing as a agricultural technique was around way before the Romans decided on their little outing and conquered most of Europe as we know it along the way. It would be a major mistake underestimating the level of workmanship of the locals, even though on a grand building scale they never even got close to the achievements of the Roman empire. Making a spearshaft from a felled tree is a lot more work then starting of with a reasonably straight coppiced pole, I can assure you.
I recently read a book where one of the characters is quoted saying "History is propaganda written by the victors". Bit cynical, but worth taking into account when dealing with written "facts".

hock: You don't agree that an army in the field could have made do with trees they felled, and clearly would have had to for all their other needs to also make any required weapon hafts as well? Are you actually suggesting that more of western Europe was populated and had managed land than not 2000 years ago?

Alesia was hardly a tiny place so would have had at least a typical amount of managed land around it locally, yes? Caesar found enough wood at hand to build some 25 miles of walls and towers for his circumvallations, and what about the bridge over the Rhenus? Clearly enough forest about for that. Iron Age peoples were around to be sure, but hardly in the density that would mean the Romans wouldn't have had HUGE amounts of distance through unmanaged land. I can't believe for a second that there wasn't vastly more virgin forest in western Europe than cleared, managed land- not 2000 years ago.

I also never said anything about the locals or their possible use of coppicing- but clearly the Romans couldn't have nor would have depended on it.

"I know we need a few thousand pila Varus, but it's okay, I'm pretty sure the Celtae in this area know about coppicing and I'm sure that when we get to the next few hundred farms we'll find enough 'proper' wood for them" :lol: Somehow I don't think so :wink: