[ WP ] The Romans had some fairly advanced technology for their time but modern civilisation was considered to have advanced far beyond their level . That was , of course , right up until the discovery of the Roman Death Ray .

Professor! 
 
 Professor! 
 
 I think I've found something. I was cleaning round this exhibit, and it just hit me. 
 
 See, here on this vase. 
 
 The soldiers on the left, look what they're doing. 
 
 The arms are all outstretched, right, like they're pointing? 
 
 But they are n't holding anything. Who would go into battle without a weapon? 
 
 And the other army definitely has weapons - lots of axes. This clearly is n't a peaceful meeting. It does n't make sense that the Roman soldiers would just be pointing. 
 
 Now, at first, I just thought it was a weird mistake, or a reference to a legend or something. But then I noticed these. 
 
 In between the two armies - if you look quite carefully - straight black lines. About the same height as the soldiers, but horizontal. 
 
 I still did n't really understand though, and then I looked at the reverse of the vase. The Romans are still there, with arms outstretched, but the enemy army has changed - they're lying on the floor, dead. And the black lines have gone too. 
 
 What if - and I know this sounds crazy - what if this is a reference to a forgotten weapon? 
 
 Hear me out. Based on this vase, we can work out certain things. One, it's devastating. All the enemies ( Ostrogoths? ) are dead. And there are no more black lines. 
 
 Two, it's not a big weapon. The Romans do n't seem to be holding anything, so whatever it's fired from, it ca n't be bulky. Something that would fit in the palm of your hand, or clip unobtrusively onto your wrist. 
 
 The only other clue we have is the black lines. A dark, straight line that seems to strike with incredible force. 
 
 You've heard, of course, of the Antikythera mechanism? Or the Nazca Lines? Technology that seems to be incredibly anachronistic? Machines that ancient people should n't have had, or structures that they should n't have been able to build? 
 
 I know this is my first day in the museum, but I really think I'm on to something here. Fresh eyes, right? 
 
 I was thinking, what kind of weapon does that? A straight line, moving through the air? And then I realised - I'd seen this kind of weapon before. 
 
 I'm a big comics guy, you know? Grew up with Superman and Batman, joined the Marvel fan club, all of that. So I know what I'm talking about here. 
 
 This looks like a death ray. They show up in comics all the time. Small, portable, devastating. And they show up as the same straight lines in comic books as they do on this vase. 
 
 What if the Romans had death rays? Some application of ancient science that we've now forgotten? 
 
 It makes sense. How else could you build a vast empire that quickly, without some kind of edge? The death ray could have been that edge. 
 
 The Romans had death rays. Just think about that for a minute. It changes everything. We'll be famous. 
 
 Obviously, professor, we'll share the credit. I made the discovery, but you can be listed as second author on the paper. I had some ideas for titles already. `` Set phasers to ( invading tribes of ) Hun'' is a good one. 
 
 What are the odds, right? You thought there was just a new cleaner today, but actually it was a revolution for the Classics. Mind blown, yeah? 
 
 What do you think? It's undeniable. There's no other possible explanation. 
 
 Oh. Spears. That makes sense. 
 

