Cervi
Cervi so called from their resemblance to the horns of a stag (Varr. L. L. 5.117), were branches of trees interlaced with their points projecting, used in war as palisading or chevaux-de-frise, in front of or upon earthworks or fortifications (Caes. Gal. 7.72; Liv. 44.11, 4; Serv. ad Verg. Ecl. 2.29; Tib. 4.1, 84), and sometimes, where there were no fortifications, stuck simply in the level ground (Sil. It. 10.413, 414).
From William Smith (ed.), Dictionary of Greek and Roman Antiquities. Text provided under a CC BY-SA license by Perseus Digital Library, http://www.perseus.tufts.edu, with funding from the National Endowment for the Humanities and Tufts University. Data accessed from https://github.com/PerseusDL/canonical-pdlrefwk/ on 17 October 2026.