Pilum to Plumbata

[EmperorBatman999]

The Roman Army was always famous for using the pilum as their preferred throwing projectile dating back to the Republican Era. It has become one of the most iconic Roman weapons, probably second only to the gladius itself.

Now I understand that by the late Empire, Constantine and others enacted sweeping army reforms that completely transformed the Roman Army. Of course, the army at this point was a far cry from the legionary era of old, using different tactics and adhering to a completely new grand strategy. They also changed weapons to suit their needs, switching out the gladius for the spatha.

It seems they also got rid of the old tried and tested pilum for a militarized dart. Why did the empire make this change? What exactly is the battlefield effectiveness of a war dart? I can't imagine it having more range or power than the old pilum. I mean, when we think of darts today, we think of the game buddies play at a pub or bar, not a battlefield weapon. What was the appeal to abandoning the old pilum for the plumbata?

[Geronimo2006]

According to this website, the lead weights on the Plumbata gave it better penetration, and it also had a better range than the pillum.

Relatively few plumbata finds have been made (one was at Wroxeter). I think the plumbata was one of two replacements to the pillum - the other being the spiculum which Vegetius implies was similar to the pillum.

The late Roman writer Vegetius, in his work De Re Militari, wrote:

As to the missile weapons of the infantry, they were javelins headed with a triangular sharp iron, eleven inches (279 mm) or a foot long, and were called piles. When once fixed in the shield it was impossible to draw them out, and when thrown with force and skill, they penetrated the cuirass without difficulty.^[6]

And later in the same work:
They had likewise two other javelins, the largest of which was composed of a staff five feet and a half long and a triangular head of iron nine inches [230 mm] long. This was formerly called the pilum, but now it is known by the name of spiculum. The soldiers were particularly exercised in the use of this weapon, because when thrown with force and skill it often penetrated the shields of the foot and the cuirasses of the horse.^[7]

As for why the spiculum replaced the pillum (around 250AD) it seems it was better than the pillum if used as a thrusting spear. The spiculum was also shorter than the pillum at 190cm long. The same link says the spiculum fell out of favour in the Roman army sometime after 400AD.

[Magister Militum Flavius Aetius]

According to this website, the lead weights on the Plumbata gave it better penetration, and it also had a better range than the pillum.

Umm... quite a few plumbatae have been found.

Which means that the total of published plumbatae now stands at 162, including unpublished finds and (no doubt some) fakes the toll has risen to 218:

31 from Serbia
29 from Britain (up from 28)
15 from Austria
14 from France
14 from Slovenia
9 from Hungary
8 from Croatia
8 from Italy
7 from Germany
7 from Switzerland
5 from Georgia/Abchasia
3 from Rumania
3 from Bulgaria
3 from Greece
2 from Liechtenstein
2 from The Netherlands
1 from Belgium
1 from Slovakia
56 from doubtful or unprovenanced origins

We keep a running list on RAT.

http://www.romanarmytalk.com/17-roma...rt=0&start=585

Relatively few plumbata finds have been made (one was at Wroxeter). I think the plumbata was one of two replacements to the pillum - the other being the spiculum which Vegetius implies was similar to the pillum.

As for why the spiculum replaced the pillum (around 250AD) it seems it was better than the pillum if used as a thrusting spear. The spiculum was also shorter than the pillum at 190cm long. The same link says the spiculum fell out of favour in the Roman army sometime after 400AD.

Much longer than 400, it's mentioned in the Strategikon of Maurice, although under a different term. The Spiculum is generally about 6.5 feet long, so shorter than the Pilum, although the 4th century example from Caervernon had a double-length shaft and was more or less as long as a Pilum. The Spiculum was also socketed, not fastened with a tang, and had a barbed head. It was more useful as a short thrusting spear and the weight distribution of the javelin is different.

Also, you forgot about the Verrutum (a.k.a. Lancea) which was in use during the Principate (see Arrian's Ektaxis Kat Alanon) but became the primary weapon for skirmishers of the late empire (it also changed from a leaf-bladed to a barbed head).

[RGA]

The plumbata always puzzled me until I saw one of them (replica) with my own eyes. Yes, they were thrown underhand, not directly at the enemy as darts but in the air. When a plumbata reachs its height, it dives downwards with the point first. The fletches keep the dive straight (no tumbling), thus maximizing the impact velocity. Unless the enemy soldiers raised their shields, they would be hit in the head, neck and shoulders. Pretty scary weapons if used en masse.

With the pretty long handle, it's safe to presume that the reach is quite reasonable, surely greater than pila (comparable with a stick grenade IMHO). I think it's an important factor: a charging cavalryman needs only seconds to pass 20 meters, which was the maximal range of pila. Even a trained soldiers cannot launch his javelin and brace himself quick enough. The formation described by Vegetius in which the rear ranks launched their range weapons is, IMHO, highly theoretic, since they wouldn't be able to see anything.