Three types of arrows used by the Roman military:
1. plain arrows – like arrows you’d shoot from a bow today.
2. Arrows that were dipped into tar, set on fire, and then shot through the air… with brush all around…soldiers intentionally try to catch the arrows into their shields…so they’d stick and the flames would go out…versus just deflecting the flaming arrows and brush catching fire!
3. Paul speaks of…fire-bearing arrows made from long, slender pieces of cane, filled with combustible fluids which exploded upon impact…. reserved to inflict damage upon a fortified place or an encampment. If an army had fortified its position so that the enemy could not break in to destroy it, then the enemy would revert to using these deadly arrows of fire. Because these arrows looked harmless, some soldiers made the mistake of ignoring the attacks until the arrows hit their targets and exploded. Often in ancient Warfare…“flaming arrows” were launched in GREAT NUMBER at the beginning of an attack. The idea was not only to injure, but to shoot at all sides with a massive number of arrows, and thus cause confusion and panic!