08-15-2002, 07:47 PM
I doubt that using sculptures, paintings or other reconstructions is an accurate method for confirming or denying how Roman swords were used. They are art forms and in the same category as our modern films. It would be as if some future historian cited the scenes in the movie Gladiator to confirm the use of fire pots thrown by catapults against Germanic warriors. The artists who carved the sculptures were probably not soldiers, probably didn't observe the scenes they depicted and probably didn't have a high priority on historical accuracy. <p></p><i></i>
