Forensic nature of gladius wounds

[Anonymous]

John ,<br>
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Been trying to post on RCS but it keeps crashing out on me.<br>
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You were interested in the 4 pronged dagger ? I have a magazine article from a sunday suppliment which is on the grave discoveries & the wounds made by this. Its not comprehensive ...but it all counts.<br>
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Bung me an e-mail if you are interested.<br>
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[email protected] <br>
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Conal <p></p><i></i>

[Anonymous]

I have a medical background nd I must say that the stabbing wounds we see at the ER would be nothing compared to a wound done my a solid hit from a galdius.<br>
A simple knife wound to the abdomen by a pocket knife may not be enough to incapacitate an adult (although it can in some instances) what it can sometimes do is kill the same adult some time later (without the proper medical care). A pocket knife wound could be lethal almost immediately if applied to the neck.<br>
Considering how much damage a pocket knife can do, a gladius could be lethal if applied to neck, chest or even abdomen. A solid hit to the abdomen could (probably less than half the time) sever the abdominal aorta (a large artery that supplies both legs and lower organs) or maybe the spinal cord. A solid hit is more likely to run through several organs, spill colon or intestinal contents into the abdominal cavity and the patient will be dead from sepsis and infection. Needless to say, it would probably be incapacitating.<br>
I would think that a single solid hit in any area with a broad and heavy gladius would be almost always be incapacitating. By incapacitated I mean combat ineffective (not unconcious). I guess in war, that's what counts. Instant death would be a bonus. <p></p><i></i>

[Lucius Aurelius Metellus]

I was just reading this thread, and I found it interesting that one of the earlier posters mentioned putting spider webs into the wound to stop the bleeding. That reminded me of a story that my father told me once, long ago. My father is 80 years old, and lived through the depression and WWll, times when most people couldn't afford to go to regular doctors. He told me of how my uncle almost severed his finger with a butcher knife, and that the old housekeeper mixed spider webs and ashes from the fireplace and put them in the wound and bandaged it all up. My uncle still had the finger attached to his hand and working properly when he passed away a couple of years ago. I guess that those old "home remedies" were more effective than we all realize! <p>Lucius Aurelius Metellus, miles gregarius, Secunda Brittanica</p><i></i>

[Anonymous]

Hmmm, spider webs are made of a fibrous protein or just sticky silk and would maybe be sterile or at least clean if newly spun(?), ash would be burnt wood, clean or sterile if very recently collected from a fire. So in theory, if these two materials were collected "fresh" they may be used as a sort of bandage and spider webs have indeed been used as bandages. It is an actual home remedy.<br>
In my opinion, it would be quite difficult collecting fresh spider webs, anything about a day old probably has too much dirt on it and may cause infection.<br>
Considering the technology the Romans had, one would be better served if he used clean bandages with copious amounts of frshly boiled water or maybe some sort of antiseptic or cautery. You would never know if the spider web the medic collected was fresh.<br>
<p></p><i>Edited by: <A HREF=http://p200.ezboard.com/bromanarmytalk.showUserPublicProfile?gid=manatrakoolmd>Manatrakoolmd</A> at: 9/7/04 12:22 pm<br></i>

[Anonymous]

"he favours going for...the eyes."<br>
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The bone structure behind the eyes is quite thin and therfore easier to pierce with the gladius.<br>
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"He, then, would crouch down low and thrust upwards"<br>
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Using a shorter weapon, a crouching position gives you a better reach.<br>
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I'm sure that various techniques both stayed and changed throughout the history of Rome. We can't say for certain what happened in the 1st century B.C. also accounted for techniques used in the 3rd century A.D. All we can do is speculate and hope that one day an archaeologist will uncover something along these lines. <p></p><i></i>