Pompey

He himself, after barricading the gates and manning the walls with his lightest-armed soldiers, ordered the Brundisians to remain quietly in their houses, and then dug up all the ground inside the city into trenches, and filled the streets with sunken stakes[*](Ditches were dug across the streets, sharpened stakes placed in the ditches, and the whole work lightly covered so as to look undisturbed. Cf. Caesar, Bell. Civ. I. xxvii. ) all except two, by which he himself finally went down to the sea.

Then on the third day, when he had already embarked the rest of his host at his leisure, he suddenly raised a signal for those who were still guarding the walls to run swiftly down to the sea, took them on board, and set them across to Dyrrachium. Caesar, however, when he saw the walls deserted, perceived that Pompey had fled, and in his pursuit of him came near getting entangled in the ditches and stakes; but since the Brundisians told him about them, he avoided the city,[*](He had besieged it for nine days, and had also begun to close up the harbour (Caesar, Bell. Civ. I. xxv.-xxvii.).) and making a circuit round it, found that all the transports had put out to sea except two, which had only a few soldiers aboard.