Sarculum
σκαλίς
Sarculum (a sarriendo, Varro, L. L. 5.31, σκαλίς, σκαλιστήριον), a hoe. (Hor. Od. 1.1, 11; Ovid, Ov. Met. 11.36, Fast. 1.699, 4.927; Plaut. Truc. 2.2, 21; Cato, de Re Rust. 10; Columella, 10.21.) It was lighter than the MARRA (compare Plin. Nat. 17.146, 19.241), and was sometimes a simple blade, sometimes two-pronged (Pallad. 1.43). It was also used like the RASTRUM to cover the seed when sown (Columella, 2.11), and in mountainous countries it served instead of a plough (Plin. Nat. 18.19.178). Directions for using it to clear the surface of the ground (σκάλλειν, Hdt. 2.14; σκαλεύειν, Schol. in Theocrit. 10.14) are given by Palladius (de Re Rust. 2.9). See also Juv. 15.166, and Mayor's note.
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.