Roman tools were made in a different era before standardized units of measurement were common, and when there was no power other than animal, human or (very rarely) hydropower.

Roman tools and weapons

Great wars were fought in the name of Rome and entire civilizations were conquered to ensure the glory of Rome stood unquestioned as swords, shields, and spears were the commonly used weapons required for combat, but this did not mean that these were the only military tools available.

Roman soldiers were adroit tacticians, and they had no problems utilizing a variety of weaponry if that was what was needed to defeat their enemies on the battlefield.

Medical Tools

Today’s medical achievements owe their existence to ancient Roman tools. The scalpel is one of the greatest surgical tools ever created by an ancient roman civilization. It was comprised, typically, of bronze or iron and mostly came in two sizes.

The larger of these were commonly used for long, or deep incisions, while the shorter scalpel was used for more fine detail surgeries. Also for surgery, the instruments of ancient Rome including blunt forceps were used to extract pieces of bone lesions, especially the skull. The ancient Romans were also responsible for bone hooks, which were used for several purposes.

The Romans had powered milling lathes. The lathing rod itself was usually shaped from stone, and the system itself turned by gears and ropes, powered by a treadle press (basically, kicking a counterweight) or, for higher end options, a water mill from a stream.

Ancient Roman construction tools

Sticks, most commonly ending with a bird or a hand were used as a voting tool by senators in provincial cities. The Romans used basic building tools that had been around for years to complete their building work.

The movement of large building blocks was done by the use of levers and pulleys. These were powered by slaves – there was a plentiful supply of these in Rome.

Roman wood and Stone working tools

In ancient Rome, Hard iron would be used to make tools such as hammers, chisels, wedges to assist splitting stone and wood, saws and axes not to mention a wide variety of tools used to till or otherwise work the land. These were used in vast quantities and varieties in order to dig and build foundations work and shape stone and wood, carry it into place and bind it into a durable unit.

Roman tools also included a lot of farm implements; the Roman scythe was one of the first major ‘consumer items’ produced in cast metal in the world, and was cast from bronze, and then from iron, and then from ‘black steel’ at various times during Roman history.

Roman Tools Facts

The incredible ancient Romans usedmolten metal and perfected it to create the first head cast Metal Hammer. This tool was then used to shape metal complexes, such as weapons and armor. They also created the tower with a rotating rod that has formed in the stone.

Other Roman era tools also included navigational devices (early sextants) and sailing counterweights to make it easier to raise or lower sails when doing shipping across the Mediterranean. Rome used to navigate and balances that is easier to raise and lower the sails of their additions ships.