Lamina caespiti (turf cutter)

The Roman turf cutter was a piece of standard issue equipment of the Roman legions. This tool was used primarily in the building of the defensive trench encircling the fortified camp that would be constructed each night at the end of the days march. These photos depict a couple of the variations of this cutting tool, which comes with an attached wooden foothold to and in the cutting of the turf.

A turf cutter consisted of a wooden shaft and a strong iron head, similar to a small and sturdier spade. Although turf cutters were more often used to open new roads and build defenses around the empire, they were also useful to break hard, rocky soils.