The Pilum: Terror in the Air

Picture this: You are a Roman legionary in attack-mode. You are in the middle of a formation, approaching the enemy. You have a large shield in your left hand, your gladius still sheathed on your right side. But how is your unit going to illicit fear into the enemy army? And WHAT are you holding in your right hand, if not your sword?

You are holding a pilum (pl. pila)--the Roman version of the javelin. And you have a second one in reserve.

Pila were typically used in the first phase of combat, when a legion was approaching and getting into range of their enemy. Until the very end of the Republic, this long spear came in two varieties: a light and heavier version (graphic at left shows both, as well as what is probably the later Republican model in the middle.). Both were weighted and had barbed tips which were either extremely difficult or impossible for an enemy soldier to remove from his shield. And when this weapon was discharged, legionaries actually used a small leather sling device, giving it a rifle-like launch--affording more impetus than just a muscled arm! These things had a range of nearly 100 ft. and if you were on the receiving end of a pilum throw, you were probably killed quickly if hit. A solid strike was powerful enough to pierce through armor or chain mail. But fending one off with your shield was awful too, since the point's barb insured that it wouldn't come out. You'd be lugging around a shield WITH a long, cumbersome pilum sticking in it! The effect of hundreds of these things being launched all at once against an opposing army must have been terrifying. 

Now, you're back to being a Roman legionary again. As you draw your gladius and near your first opponent, he has someone's pilum jutting out of his shield. For you, this is easy. Since he has no way of removing it, you can use your shield to hit it hard, briefly jerking his shield away long enough to gut him with your sword. Or, if it's low enough on his shield, you just step on the pilum's shaft to get the same result. 

By the 1st century BC, the pilum had been used long enough for enemy soldiers to devise ways of re-using them. Either after a battle, or even in a different phase of a battle, they'd jerk them out of their unfortunate comrades bodies and shields, hurling them right back against the Romans. Obviously, this didn't sit well with Roman generals.

Gaius Marius, a wily legate toward the end of the Roman Republic, improved the pilum so it would wind up useless in the hands of the enemy, regardless of how it wound up--stuck in a corpse or a shield. He removed one of the wooden pegs that attached the shaft to the weapon's iron business end. When the spear struck a target, the remaining peg broke, rendering the weapon useless in enemy hands. That being said, it may not have been as useful a tool for legionaries wanting it for leverage in taking down a foe, since it broke apart. So by Marc Antony's day, yet another improvement had been made. The iron shank was made to be narrower to a fault, and no longer even had as prominant a barb on the end. They were weakened on purpose so that they would still stick in an enemy's shield, but the pilum's iron end would bend and become useless. 

The Legio XX Online Handbook (https://www.larp.com/legioxx/pilum.html) offers a close look at the pilum, as well as other javelin/spear-type weaponry used by the Romans. It's also loaded with great photos, to give you an idea of what the various period pila looked like.

In the second week in March, one of my readers has requested that I share more about the scutum--the Roman military shield. Feel free to throw me ideas if you'd like to know more about particular subjects that I cover or mention in the Antonius Trilogy! 

Next week's blog will be a special treat! Australian author, Emma Lombard will be sharing more about her upcoming book, based on one of her own ancestors! 

​So, until then, READ ON!

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              An example of a pilum shaft that was actually used in combat--bent at impact. This would have been the                        type of javelin used in Marc Antony's day. For my Biblical scholar friends out there, it was also probably the type                           of weapon used to pierce Jesus's side and on which the sponge soaked in wine was placed.