How the corvus created a ramming stalemate

The Roman third squadron reached a defensive position with the shore behind it, even though the Carthaginian wing had initially been nearer the coast. That position reduced the directions from which it could be attacked. Polybius portrays the situation as an acute danger resembling a siege, but fear of the corvus kept the Carthaginians from closing to ram. Any close contact risked pinning their ships and exposing their crews to Roman boarding troops. The alternative interpretation is that an enemy unwilling to use its principal means of sinking ships had reached a stalemate. Polybius then credits the consuls' arrival with surrounding the attackers and capturing fifty ships. Archaeological finds are also used to discuss where ships sank, but the specific locations invoked here depend on the accompanying battle diagram.