The Roman Army: A Social and Institutional History - Karatunov.net

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The Roman A rmy
Two soldiers, one with helmet and shield, the other showing weapons and armor.
Roman relief from a column. (Erich Lessing/Art Resource, NY)
by three rivets. Other examples of pila were equipped with a socket at the base
of the iron shank, and the wood was seated inside the socket and held with an
i ron co ll a r. O n ly very ra rely have there been any com p l ete finds of the met a l
parts and nothing of the wooden shaft, so it is difficult to discern exactly how
long the pila may have been. However, it is commonly suggested that the iron
shank measu red abo ut 2 feet (60 cm) and the wooden shaft was abo ut 4 feet
long (1.2 m). On average, then, the whole weapon measured approximately 6
feet or nearly 2 meters (Goldsworthy, 2003).
The pilum was designed for throwing and had great penetrative power. Effectively
used, it could pass through a shield and injure the man holding it, and
since it was difficult to remove it quickly, at the very least it would render the