Spartan trench against Pyrrhus

[Macedon]

Plutarch describes the defensive works constructed by the Spartans when Pyrrhus came against their city as a trench some 240 m long with carts firmly set in the ground on both its "sides". The description is in Plutarch's Life of Pyrrhus, ch 27 and the attack against it is ch 28. Now, my question is what the shape of these works is in your opinion...

c
c
c........................c c c
t..........ctc...............t
t..........ctc...............t...(c=carts, t=trench)
t..........ctc...............t
c........................c c c
c
c

The fact that Pyrrhus' son with 2,000 Gauls and Chaonians came around the trench and tried to attack and climb over the carts makes me go for option nr 3. Another clue that goes against option nr. 2 is that there are no carts mentioned in the attack of Pyrrhus' infantry against the trench. But then,when the troops with Ptolemy are attacked by the Spartans of Acrotatos on the rear, they fall among the carts and into the trench. Later on, Plutarch has Pyrrhus ride past the trench and the carts...

Take a look at the text and tell me your opinions....

[Macedon]

Here is an online translation of the relevant text.

[Paralus]

Well George, we've no idea of where the trench is made. By this I mean we've no idea of the geographical locale. Therefore we cannot say why 240 metres was sufficient other than that it "paralleled" the enemy camp. It may have plugged a local "choke" point for all we know.

In any case, 240 metres is what we have. A couple of things come to mind though. If Plutarch's description of the ditch is correct then it will have stopped elephants - three metres wide by two deep is enough to well and truly give the pachyderms pause and to have their mahouts at a severe disatvantage. Wagons put in front or behind the ditch will have added little.

Wagons, buried to their axles, at each end of the ditch are another nmatter. Here, if Pyrrhus wanted to use his elephants on the flanks - something he was known for - they could be of use. Especially if, as we don't know, the ground helped.

[Macedon]

Yes, Michael, my problem lies with where the carts were actually located. At first I also thought they were posted on the long sides of the trench, but then, when I read of the action of the contingent of Ptolemy, I asked myself whether they were posted on the "short" sides, either to form a longer line or a Π (or some form of Π), to cover the trench's flanks. The thing is that Ptolemy took his troops and marched around the trench, so, if this is where the carts were arrayed, why did he then have to turn and attack the Lacedaemonians over them? Wouldn't he have made it around them too? But when he was hard pressed by Acrotatos, his men fell among the carts AND some into the trench.... If there was no trench there, how did they fall into it? Unless, they were driven along the carts and into where the trench lay...

The action took place right outside Sparta, Pyrrhus almost certainly would have approached from the north. The plains there are narrow and carts are mentioned to be near the river (Ptolemy's men were rolling them into Eurotas). I post here an image based on Google Earth maps of the region, only to show that the 240 m mentioned by Plutarch may be enough on its own to protect the northern approach to the city. I do not expect much to have changed in matters of geography in the region.


[attachment=5307]spartantrench.jpg[/attachment]

The black line is the 240 m long trench, the red lines could be where the carts were posted, assuming that they were not posted along the trench. You can see the city of Sparta where it is today.

[hoplite14gr]

Moderm Sparta was builr in mid 19th century. There wass very little excavation done and it is still problematic.
"Google Earth" on it own does not help. You need special geologic survey to locate 2000 year old mass earthworks who wiil probably be burried under several layers. (i.e in the Thessaloni the layer of the greats fire in 1920 AD is aleady burried 30 cm).

I belive the 2000 yera earthworks can be located but you will proba;ly need specila satellite images probably phasmatoscopic.

Kind regards

[Macedon]

The hill south of where the valley opens to the plains where modern Sparta is located (the one just south of where my "trench" lies) is a site where many ancient polis related buildings have been excavated, so it probably was around there and certainly very near to Eurotas. Yet, I am not interested in where ancient Sparta lied but on how you think the carts were placed in relation to the trench, according to the text of Plutarch, essentially your reading of the text. I only made this image to give a scale of the geography in the region not because it is there where I support it was built.

[Paralus]

Firstly Plutarch is not at his best when "describing" battles for these are not why he writes. In his life of Eumenes, for example, Paraetecene never happens. More instructively, Ipsus is (briefly) described so as to show Demetrius' (supposed) impetuosity and the anecdote relating to his father's death. Here it is hard to escape the fact that he is more interested in the "moral tale" of the Spartan women than the actual battle. That said...

The thing is that Ptolemy took his troops and marched around the trench, so, if this is where the carts were arrayed, why did he then have to turn and attack the Lacedaemonians over them? Wouldn't he have made it around them too?

No, George. Ptolemy led his force around the trench, not the wagons. Once past the trench Ptolemy's troops set upon the wagons; the intent is clearly to remove them to facilitate a break through. Here they roll them down the slope into the Eurotas.

It is clear to me that the wagons are at the end of the actual trench. The Spartans, taken by surprise, only had the night to dig this trench (hand dug by the women as Plutarch - or Phylarchus - has it). Here Plutarch's note that Hieronymus says the trench was not as long as Phylarchus states might be instructive. If the one night is correct then it is very possible that the trench did not extend as far as wanted. In this instance, the ends were finished by digging in wagons. These may well have been angled back as you have it (around the town towards the river on one side at least as the text implies).

Pyrrhus leads a frontal assault on the trench - there are no wagons here. Ptolemy goes around the trench to contend with the wagons and pull them down the slope into the river. The Macedonians (second assault) attempt to fill the trench (now with bodies and arms of the dead in it) - still no wagons. Pyrrhus leads an attack past the trench and the wagons and makes it into Sparta town.

So, Ptolemy goes around (past) the trench and sets about removing the wagons some of which are sent down the slope to the river. Acrocatus, going through the town, comes up behind him and drives Ptolemy's troops off the wagons and back towards the trench (away from the town) and into the depressions left by the removed wagons. Ptolemy's men were attacked from the rear and from the defenders of the trench and "palisade" of wagons. Pyrrhus, for his part, forces his way past the trench and and then has his horse killed from under him just as he's cleared a path through the wagons and into the town. This can really only be the where Ptolemy's men had rolled the wagons into the river the previous day as Pyrrhus was thrown onto the the "slippery slope" (evidently leading down to the river).

I do not see the great problem. The wagons were placed at the ends of the trench. How far they extended is anyone's guess but those on the river side clearly went back near-about the town.

[Macedon]

Good... this is exactly what I read. As I said, it struck me because at first read, one tends to interpret the carts as being placed along the trench rather than extending it. I just wanted to be sure that I have not missed something there.