The Romans later changed their fighting style to a more flexible maniple organization, and reequipped their soldiers with longer oval shields ("scutum "), swords and heavy javelins ("pilum").
The Romans later changed their fighting style to a more flexible maniple organization, which was more versatile on rough terrain like that of Samnium. Roman equipment also changed, and they reequipped their soldiers with longer oval shields ("scutum "), swords and heavy javelins ("pilum").