… vel subvertendō cūniculīs per fossōrēs.
[i] cūniculus, -ī [2/m]: [i] rabbit; [ii] burrow; mine, underground tunnel
[ii] fossor, -ōris [3/m]: in Ancient Rome, a digger or miner; the military term that the translator uses is a ‘pioneer’, a soldier detailed to form roads or dig trenches. The more common word nowadays is ‘sapper’.
Illī aliās ēruptiōne temptāta, aliās cunīculīs ad aggerem vīneāsque āctīs (Caesar)
- At one time they attempted a sortie, at another they drove mines to the rampart and mantlet.
