grapnel

[Quintus Aurelius Lepidus]

I've read that roman marines where equipped with an axe and grapnel. the grapnel was used to board other ships and the axe was used to cut enemies grapnels.

does someone know of any finds of such a grapnel?

what kind of axe would it have been? a dolabra?

I've read about a recruit of the Alexandrian Fleet who sent a letter to his father in which he requested for a sword, an axe, grapnel and 2 spears.'gladium pugnatorium et dolabrum et copulam et longas duas quam optimas...' my latin is not that good but that signifies a dolabra type axe to me.

any thoughts on this one?

[M. Val. Naso]

See attachment, called copula.

[Titvs Statilivs Castvs]

I've read about a recruit of the Alexandrian Fleet who sent a letter to his father in which he requested for a sword, an axe, grapnel and 2 spears.'gladium pugnatorium et dolabrum et copulam et longas duas quam optimas...' my latin is not that good but that signifies a dolabra type axe to me.

Hi Yves!
I don't think we should take the word "dolabrum" to mean what we use it for nowadays. Probably it is just a generic word for 'axe'. (I don't know this for sure, but I suppose it's like gladius/spatha and scutum/clipeus, all four being generic words for sword and shield to the Romans, without meaning a specific type.) A dolabra, in the sense as we use it now (for the kind of 'pick-axe'), seems very unwieldy to use on a ship. I would rather expect a "single-bladed" axe; but an expectation is no evidence of course. :wink:
I did a quick search on Gnomon (database for publications) with the term "grapnel" but no results. I haven't got access to l'Année Philologique at the moment.