Ancient action figures: Toy swords unearthed at Roman fort

I would imagine that the male children of Roman outposts like this were often trained in martial combat to become legionnaires themselves, probably serving at the very same outpost as their fathers before them. However, I also wonder on the size of these weapons, whether they really were meant as a child's toy, or as training weapons. We know British knights would often train with wooden swords crafted to be heavier than their steel swords so that in combat, the steel was much easier to wield. Might the Romans have done something similar? Especially considering that the Roman iron gladius was much shorter than the later British steel longswords... such a training weapon might easily appear to be the size of a child's toy.

Thank you for the interesting article, great share.

Sgt Wayne Wood: HOW EXCITING!!!! -Most Sincerely, Margaret