On the painting table: EIR baggage. - posted by Daniel Wade, 1 June 2026

Scratch built tent. Spikey wall things donated by Paul Goldstone (google wouldn’t tell me their name) Legionnaire donated by Michael Stonyer. Donkey from Warlord games. The tent was made from green foam and covered with squares of dried wet wipes.

https://www.facebook.com/groups/824840264342234/posts/3316038298555739

Tilman Walk

The Roman Hedgehog: Ericius

​The ericius was a mobile defensive barrier used to block gateways, secure breaches in camp walls, or stand in the open field against cavalry charges.

​The Design: It featured a main central beam bristling with long, sharp wooden spikes pointing in all directions.

​The Usage: Julius Caesar mentions them in his Commentaries on the Civil War during the siege of Ategua, where they were deployed to secure a camp's threshold against sudden sorties or cavalry breakthroughs. Because it looked exactly like a spiked wooden log, it is functionally identical to the Renaissance cheval de frise.

These look like being constructed out of ​Sudes (Mural Stakes): per Roman legionary a legion was regulated to carry two sudes (also called valli) as part of the standard marching pack. While usually used to quickly build a palisade wall atop an earthen rampart, roping the Valli/sides together around their waist, they could also be lashed together in a crisscross pattern as shown in your pic, to form a hasty, portable barrier against cavalry.

Later reinvented and called chevaux de frise

​Why the Name "Frisian Horse"?

​The term came into use during the 17th-century Dutch Revolt. The Frisians—who lived in the northern region of the Netherlands with very little cavalry of their own—relied heavily on these spiked barriers to effectively halt and dismantle the charges of the heavily mounted Spanish forces.

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Daniel Wade

Thanks, thats really useful.

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Vincent Cholewa

This is one of the joys of our hobby. Making stuff yourself and buddies helping out with bits and pieces from their spares boxes. The Fellowship of Wargaming, Mr Baggins