The pilum was a javelin used by Roman legionaries, built with a hard pyramidal iron tip on a shank that could bend or otherwise become unusable once it struck, so an enemy could not simply throw it back, and if it lodged in a shield its weight and awkward angle often forced the bearer to discard the shield rather than fight on with it. Standard tactics called for legionaries to throw one, or both if time allowed, immediately before closing to fight hand to hand with the gladius. This description is adapted from Wikipedia contributors under CC BY-SA 4.0; changes were made. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/
Facts
Classification
Service Status Weapon Class
Weapon Class (category) Weapon Class Connections
Associated With
Gallic Wars, Wars The pilum was the Roman legion's standard heavy javelin during Caesar's Gallic Wars, alongside the gladius.
Source Wikipedia: Pilum
Praetorian cohorts carried the pilum, the heavy javelin standard to Roman infantry, alongside their ceremonial duties
Open Questions
Source Wikipedia: Pilum
Sources
1. Wikipedia: Pilum
WikipediaTactics section
Standard tactics called for Roman soldiers to throw one of them (both if time permitted) at the enemy, just before charging to engage with the gladius.
- Introduction section
- Introduction
Lead section, first paragraph
was a javelin commonly used by the Roman army in ancient times.
- Weapon class classified from the entity's own sourced description text.
- Weapon class (shield-armor) is a pre-industrial/melee weapon type by its own nature per the entity's own sourced description text; not carried in current active military service.
Caliber attribute (pilum)
It was generally about 2 m long overall, consisting of an iron shank about 7 mm (0.28 in) in diameter and 600 mm (24 in) long with a pyramidal head, attached to a wooden shaft by either a socket or a flat tang.
View the Source Open Questions (1 open question)
When and from whom did the Roman army adopt the pilum?
The pilum is securely attested by the late Roman Republic, but its origin is not: proposed sources range from the Samnites to the Iberian peninsula to independent Roman development, separated by centuries, and no single dated origin is established in the literature consulted.
What would resolve this Dated archaeological finds of proto-pilum weapons from the proposed source cultures, or a textual source describing its adoption that predates the surviving accounts.
History of ancient weapons and technologyWikipedia: Pilum
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