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Pilum. The pilum (Latin: [ˈpiːɫʊ̃]; pl.: pila) was a javelin commonly used by the Roman army in ancient times. It was generally about 2 m (6 ft 7 in) 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.
The sudis (pl.: sudes) was a stake carried by Roman legionaries for employment as a field fortification, sometimes also called vallus. It is frequently, but incorrectly, called a pilum murale (lit. ' wall spear '). Typically, two such stakes were carried by each soldier.
A sturdy pilum that does not bend upon impact would be in line with the numerous historical Roman writings that state the pilum was often used as a weapon in melee combat: For example, in "The Gallic Wars" Caesar writes that at Alesia his troops used the pila as spears or pikes. In the "Life of Pompey" and "Life of Antony", Plutarch describes ...
A recreation of Roman legionaries wearing the lorica segmentata, 1st–3rd century.Other equipment in view include the galea (helmet), pilum (spear) and scutum (shield). The Roman legionary (in Latin legionarius; pl.: legionarii) was a citizen soldier of the Roman army.
Roman pila without Marius' peg often bent or broke on impact, but this was more likely a by-product of their long, narrow shanks than an intentional feature. [46] Pliny's Natural History attributes Marius with adopting the eagle as the universal legionary standard. [47] This has been interpreted as a rallying symbol for each cohort. [48]
The shafts were about 1.1 metres (3 ft 7 in) long, substantially shorter than the 2-metre (6 ft 7 in) pilum, and the point measured about 13 centimetres (5 in) long. The verutum had either an iron shank like the pilum or a tapering metal head. It was sometimes thrown with the aid of a throwing strap, or amentum.
The contubernium (Latin for 'tenting-together') was the smallest organized unit of soldiers in the Roman Army and was composed of ten legionaries, [1] essentially the equivalent of a modern squad, although unlike modern squads contubernia seemed to serve no tactical role in battle.
The pilum, a heavy javelin that eventually all Roman foot soldiers were equipped with, was probably also of Spanish design and also adopted during the First Punic War. (Alternatively, it has been suggested that the pilum was of Samnite origin, but there is no evidence that the Samnites possessed any such weapon). [ 12 ]