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A caltrop (also known as caltrap, galtrop, cheval trap, galthrap, galtrap, Jackrock 〔(【引用サイトリンク】 work = Illustrated dictionary of Heraldry )〕 calthrop or crow's foot〔''Battle of Alesia'' (Caesar's conquest of Gaul in 52 BC)), Battlefield Detectives program, (2006), rebroadcast: 2008-09-08 on History Channel International (13;00-14:00 hrs EDST); Note: No mention of name caltrop at all, but illustrated and given as battle key to defend Roman lines of circumvaliation per recent digs evidence.〕) is an antipersonnel weapon made up of two or more sharp nails or spines arranged in such a manner that one of them always points upward from a stable base (for example, a tetrahedron). Caltrops were part of defenses that served to slow the advance of horses, war elephants, and human troops. They were particularly effective against the soft feet of camels. In more modern times, caltrops are still effective when used against wheeled vehicles with pneumatic tires. The modern name "caltrop" is derived from the Latin ''calcitrapa'' (foot-trap),〔http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/caltrop〕 such as in the French usage ''chausse-trape''. The synonymous Latin word ''tribulus'' gave rise to the modern Latin name of a plant, ''Tribulus terrestris'' (Zygophyllaceae), whose spiked seed case can injure feet and puncture tires. This plant can also be compared to the starthistle, ''Centaurea calcitrapa'', which is sometimes referred to as the "caltrop". A water plant with similarly-shaped spiked seeds is called the "water caltrop", ''Trapa natans''. ==History== According to Quintus Curtius (IV.13.36), iron caltrops were used as early as 331 BC by Darius III against Alexander the Great at the Battle of Gaugamela in Persia. They were known to the Romans as ''tribulus'' or sometimes as ''murex ferreus'', the latter meaning 'jagged iron'. They were also used in the Battle of Carrhae in 53 BC. The late Roman writer Vegetius, referring in his work ''De Re Militari'' to scythed chariots, wrote: Another example of the use of caltrops was found in Jamestown, Virginia, in the United States: The Japanese version of the caltrop is called makibishi. ''Makibishi'' were sharp spiked objects that were used in feudal Japan to slow pursuers and also were used in the defence of samurai fortifications. Iron ''makibishi'' were called ''tetsubishi,'' while the ''makibishi'' made from the dried seed pod of the water chestnut, formed a natural type of ''makibashi'' called ''tennenbishi''. Both types of ''makibishi'' could penetrate the thin soles of shoes, such as the waraji sandals, that were commonly worn in feudal Japan.〔(''Japanese Castles AD 250–1540'', Stephen Turnbull, Peter Dennis, Osprey Publishing, 2008 P.32 )〕〔(''Samurai, Warfare and the State in Early Medieval Japan'' ), Karl F. Friday, Psychology Press, 2004 P.119〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「caltrop」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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