06-05-2014, 11:18 AM
Quote:Stop thinking wedge!Can we do that when our best source, Tacitus, uses precisely that term (velut cuneo, 'just like a wedge')? After all, Tacitus' father-in-law, Agricola, had been on Paulinus' staff. On the other hand, what we know of the 'saw' formation indicates that it was used to retrieve the situation when the line had become disrupted and there is no suggestion in Tacitus' account that that had occurred in the battle against Boudica. As always, I am open to correction but I know of no authority for a 'sawtooth' formation. If there is such authority, I would like the reference.
Michael King Macdona
And do as adversaries do in law, -
Strive mightily, but eat and drink as friends.
(The Taming of the Shrew: Act 1, Scene 2)
And do as adversaries do in law, -
Strive mightily, but eat and drink as friends.
(The Taming of the Shrew: Act 1, Scene 2)