The Pilum

The Roman Heavy Javelin

The Pilum cover

The Pilum

The Roman Heavy Javelin

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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.

Product details

Published 18 May 2017
Format Paperback
Edition 1st
Extent 80
ISBN 9781472815880
Imprint Osprey Publishing
Illustrations 45 b/w; 19 col
Dimensions 248 x 184 mm
Series Weapon
Short code WPN 55
Publisher Bloomsbury Publishing

About the contributors

Author

M.C. Bishop

Writer, publisher and archaeologist M.C. Bishop is…

Illustrator

Peter Dennis

Peter Dennis was inspired by contemporary magazine…

Resources

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