As novice shipwrights, the Romans built copies that were heavier than the Carthaginian vessels, and so slower and less manoeuvrable. ting the oarsmen to row as a unit, let alone to execute more complex battle manoeuvres, required long and arduous training. At least half of the oarsmen would need to have h some experience if the ship was to be handled effectively. As a result, the Romans were initially at a disvantage against the more experienced Carthaginians. To counter this, the Romans introduced the corvus, a bridge 1.2 metres (4 feet) wide and 11 metres (36 feet) long, with a heavy spike on the underside, which was designed to pierce and anchor into an enemy ship's deck. This allowed Roman legionaries acting as marines to board enemy ships and capture them, rather than employing the previously tritional tactic of ramming. All warships were equipped with rams, a triple set of 60-centimetre-wide (2 ft) bronze bles weighing up to 270 kilo grams (600 lb) positioned at the waterline. In the century prior to the Punic Wars, boarding h become increasingly common and ramming h declined, as the larger and heavier vessels opted in this period lacked the speed and manoeuvrability necessary to ram, while their sturdier construction reduced the ram's effect even in case of a ful attack. The Roman aptation of the corvus was a continuation of this trend and compensated for their initial disvantage in ship-manoeuvring skills. The ded weight in the prow compromised both the ship's manoeuvrability and its seaworthiness, and in rough sea conditions the corvus became useless; part way through the First Punic War the Romans ceased using itMuch of the First Punic War was fought on, or in the waters near, Sicily. Away from the coasts its hilly and rugged terrain me manoeuvring large forces difficult and favoured the defence over the offence. Land operations were largely confined to raids, sieges and interdiction; in 23 years of war on Sicily t were two full-scale pitched battles. Sicily, 264–257 BC The war began with the Romans gaining a foothold on Sicily at Messana (modern Messina). The Romans then pressed Syracuse, the significant independent power on the island, into allying with them and laid siege to Carthage's main base at Akragas on the south coast. A Carthaginian army of 50,000 infantry, 6,000 cavalry and 60 elephants attempted to lift the siege in 262 BC, but was heavily defeated at the Battle of Akragas. That night the Carthaginian garrison escaped and the Romans seized the city and its inhabitants, selling 25,000 of them into slavery. After this the land war on Sicily reached a stalemate as the Carthaginians focused on defending their well-fortified towns and cities; these were mostly on the coast and so could be supplied and reinforced without the Romans being able to use their superior army to interfere. The focus of the war shifted to the sea, w the Romans h little experience; on t he few occasions they h previously felt the need for a naval presence they h usually relied on small squrons provided by their Latin or Greek allies. The Romans built a navy to challenge Carthage's, and using the corvus inflicted a major defeat at the Battle of Mylae in 260 BC. A Carthaginian base on Corsica was seized, but an attack on Sardinia was repulsed; the base on Corsica the Romans h seized was then lost. In 258 BC a Roman fleet heavily defeated a smaller Carthaginian fleet at the Battle of Sulci off the western coast of Sardinia. Africa, 256–255 BC Taking vantage of their naval victories the Romans launched an invasion of North Africa in 256 BC, which the Carthaginians intercepted at the Battle of Cape Ecnomus off the south coast of Sicily. The Carthaginians were again beaten; this was possibly the largest naval battle in history by the number of combatants involved. The invasion initially went well and in 255 BC the Carthaginians sued for peace; the proposed term s were so harsh they fought on. At the Battle of Tunis in spring 255 BC a combined force of infantry, cavalry and war elephants under the command of the Spartan mercenary Xanthippus crushed the Romans. The Romans sent a fleet to evacuate their survivors and the Carthaginians opposed it at the Battle of Cape Hermaeum (modern Cape Bon); the Carthaginians were again heavily defeated. The Roman fleet, in turn, was devastated by a storm while returning to Italy, losing most of its ships and more than 100,000 men. Sicily, 255–241 BC A small, white statuette of an elephant with a mahout Roman statuette of a war elephant recovered from Herculaneum