Roman Light Pilum (Spear) - (300 - 100 BC)

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The Light Pilum (plural pila) was a light javelin. around 5-6 feet in length, commonly used by the Roman Republican army around 300 - 100 BC. During this time period, each leginoary carried two pila into battle - the light pila, and the heavy pila which was some 7 feet in length. The light pilum consisted of an circular iron shank about 6 mm in diameter and 10 cm long with pyramidal head attached directly to a wooden shaft. Both pila were thrown just as the legionaries charged. The small bullet shaped metal point could penetrate shields and armour and cause serious injury to the enemy. In the event of it striking a shield but not causing injury, the shape of the tip made it very difficult to remove. The shield now became impossible to manoeuvre, due to the weight of the wooden shaft, and would very likely be discarded - leaving its owner vulnerable at a critical moment. Finally, because of the narrowness of the soft iron shank and the weight of the wooden shaft, the shank bent on impact. This meant that the enemy was not able to throw it back at its owner. However, after the battle, the Romans could collect the 'used' pila for their blacksmiths to straighten. This model illustrates a light pilum around 5 feet 7 inches in length. #Ancient #Armor #Army #Javelin #Legion #Legionary #Military #pila #pilum #Roman #Rome #Soldier #Spear #Weapon