How did Roman auxiliary archers use a bow made from several different materials?
The Roman composite recurved bow combined materials including wood, animal sinew and bone or antler reinforcement. The Museum of London preserves antler bow-ear components that helped stiffen the ends of composite bows, while Roman archers are depicted carrying recurved bows in ancient representations.
This 3D CGI weapon anatomy episode takes you inside the bow's material layers, follows its curved limbs toward the antler-reinforced tips and demonstrates how the limbs return stored energy to an arrow.
The internal cross-section is a scientific-style reconstruction based on archaeological evidence, not a scan of a complete surviving Roman bow.
Explore the extraordinary craftsmanship behind Roman auxiliary archery.
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