Caltrop

right |thumb|A 16th-century Russian caltrop

Caltrops are spiked weapons used against men and horses since at least as early as Roman times.There are different spellings of this word, such as caltrap or galtrop. Later versions were designed to deflate automobile tires. They are a type of anti-personnel weapon, and anti-vehicular weapon. Japanese samurai used a similar weapon, the makibishi.

Iron caltrops were used as early as 331 BC at Gaugamela. They were known to the Romans as tribulus, meaning 'jagged iron'.Lewis, Charlton T. & Short, Charles 1879. A Latin dictionary. They were used in the Battle of Carrhae in 51 BC.

The Roman writer Vegetius, discussed  scythed chariots in his De Re Militari:

In more modern times, they were used by both the Allies and Axis during World War II to puncture the tires of wheeled vehicles. Improvised caltrops, usually made of welded nails, have also been used occasionally by labor activists in the United States during strikes to destroy the tires of vehicles belonging to management and replacement workers. In the labor context, these devices are more often called jack rocks. A recent example of the use of jack rocks in labor disputes was in 2012, allegedly by two men on a picket line at an aluminum products plant in West Virginia.

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Category:Weapons