Chapter 5.42

The Nervii adapt Roman siege methods. 

vallo pedum X et fossa pedum XV: The palisade and the earth rampart on which it was erected were 10 Roman feet high; the ditch was 15 feet wide (Gaisser) ( A&G 425).

nulla…copia: ablative of cause: 'because of no supply' (Gaisser) ( A&G 404).

manibus sagulisque…exhaurire: 'to dig out with their hands and [carry] in their cloaks'. (Allen & Greenough); A case of zeugma (Allen & Judson).

minus horis tribus: in less than three hours (Gaisser) ( A&G 407.c, 423).

ad: ad here…means ‘in proportion to,’ not ‘up to,’ for the towers would have been useless unless they had been higher than the rampart. (Rice Holmes)

testudines: sappers' huts, used for protecting soldiers when they were filling up ditches, undermining walls, &c. (Rice Holmes); an appropriate term for a Roman siege maneuver. The soldiers would move forward in a closely-packed group, those in the center holding their shields over their heads, and those on the outside holding theirs upright. A similar effect could be achieved with a wooden cover mounted on wheels, which is probably meant here. The group was thus protected like a tortoise in its shell. The Gauls had learned this device from the Romans (Gaisser).