Goofs

The day after abandoning the general, the Romans are seen running along the top of a rounded hill with a line of snow just under the edge. Some days later, after continuously running westwards, we see them run along the same hilltop in the opposite direction.

Virilus receives two long cuts across his chest and abdomen in the Pict camp. These are not seen later, when the soldiers come to rescue him and in his fight with Etain.

The spear that kills the black Roman is shorter in depth through his chest than when it was hurled.

Etain's woad markings change from a single arc around her right eye to several markings over her face.

The chief of the Picts would never have had a shaved head, as long hair and beards were considered what made a man strong and a leader.

The Romans used treated leather for making tents (water resistant), not canvas as shown in the movie.

The movie, set in 117 CE, has Julius Agricola as governor of Britain. Julius Agricola died in 93 CE (and was recalled from Britain in 85 CE).

Quintus Dias refers to the fort he is stationed at the beginning of the movie as Inchtuthil, the modern name of the site; in Roman time it was known as Pinnata Castra and according to the archaeological data the fort was left at about 86 AD.

There are decapitations aplenty in this movie, with many lightweight weapons, short swords and small axes. Yet not even executioners during medieval times were always able to chop off a head with one stroke, even though the criminal was resting his neck on a chopping block and holding perfectly still and the executioner using a very heavy axe.

Etain is said to be able to smell the Romans across a river valley but fails to detect their scents in Arianne's home, despite them staying there overnight and hiding under the floor. In fact, the place would have been saturated with wood smoke and other smells, which could have easily disguised their scent.

In the beginning of the movie, on the map shown, Oceanvs Occidentalis (Latin name of the Atlantic Ocean, meaning "Western Ocean") is misspelt as "Oceanis Occidentalis"; the Latin name for the North Sea can be clearly seen to the east of Great Britain correctly spelt "Oceanvs Germanicvs" (meaning German Ocean). Other misspellings on this map include Bithinia instead of Bithynia; Licia instead of Lycia; Britania instead of Britannia.

However, spelling at the time depicted was not as coherent as it is today. Different ways of spelling have certainly existed, especially in cases where pronunciation would be identical.

The spear the IX Legion carries is a period-correct piece of Roman military equipment, known as the hasta. While certainly less well-known than the pilum (plural pila) throwing spear, the hasta would be a better tactical choice for a legion marching into heavy forest where the space required to bring up and throw a pilum properly is not guaranteed. The hasta, being basically a "typical" spear, is a more versatile weapon. It should be noted that every legionary was issued both a pilum and a hasta, though the pilum featured more prominently in the Romans' preferred open-field strategies.

Carlisle was not so named in Roman Britain. It was in fact named Luguvalium, which roughly translates to "Walled Settlement". However, modern place names are used throughout the film.

The wolves used in the movie are Alaskan or Canadian wolves & not European wolves.

When the men jump off a high ridge into the rapids, at no point do you see any steam coming from their breath. Obviously, they are using warm waters for this stunt; not ice cold waters in the far north, which is where they are supposedly located.

When Gorlacon's dead son is on the funeral pyre. You can see his eyelids moving a bit.

All of the horse riders are shown riding with stirrups. The stirrup did not come into use in Europe until the 6th century, so Romans and Britons riding horses would not had stirrups at the time depicted in the film, the 2nd century AD. They used a saddle which had four prominent horns for securely seating the rider.

Quintus Dias muses that he does not know if Arianne is an angel or devil. Unless Quintus was Christian, Jewish, or Zoroastrian, he would not have used this concept at the time of this movie's events in the 1st century AD, when Christianity had not widely expanded in Europe.

The reference to "running marathons" is factually erroneous. The phrase "running a marathon" was not used until 1896.

Quintus and Brick cross the river valley to attack the Picts. They kill the guards but then do not kill nor steal the horses, which would have hampered their pursuers.

Consuming death caps may result in death after days, but certainly not minutes as claimed by the cook, Tarak.

Sub-Saharan Africans weren't soldiers in the Roman army nor were they hired into the Roman army.