ENGLISH

The Pilum: The Roman Heavy Javelin

By Peter Dennis , M.C. Bishop

Book information

Publisher
Osprey Publishing
Year
2017
ISBN
1472815882; 978-1472815880
Language
english
Format
PDF
Filesize
73 MB (76093151 bytes)
Series
Weapon
Edition
1st edition
Pages
80\81
Time added
2017-07-23 16:58:37

Description

A heavy javelin, normally used as a shock weapon immediately before contact, the pilum was designed with a particular speciality: it could penetrate a shield and carry on into the individual behind it. Relying on mass rather than velocity, at short range a volley of pila had much the same effect on a charging enemy as musketry would in later periods. The design was not uniform, with a wide diversity of types throughout the developmental history of the weapon, but for more than four centuries it remained a vital part of the arsenal of weapons at the disposal of the Roman legionary. Drawing upon recent major finds in the Iberian Peninsula and the Balkans, as well as written records and rigorous scientific analysis, this enthralling study lifts the veil on the evolving nature of the pilum, the Roman heavy javelin that helped to conquer the known world.

Similar books