harpastum

Etymology
Latinization of.

Noun

 * 1) a heavy hand ball, handball
 * 2) a handball sport of antiquity played in ancient Rome

Usage notes
The general impression scholars have received from writers of antiquity is that was a game quite similar to rugby. Additional descriptions suggest a line was drawn in the dirt, and that the teams would endeavor to keep the ball behind their side of the line and prevent the opponents from reaching it. This seems rather like an "inverted" form of American football. If the opponents had the ball on their side of the line, the objective would seem to be to get in and "pass" it to another player, or somehow get it back over the line. The ancient accounts of the game are not precise enough to enable the reconstruction of the rules in any coherent detail.