Editing Pilum

{{Short description|Type of javelin used by the Roman army}}
{{Other uses}}
{{Italics title}}
[[File:Pilum light - cropped.jpg|100px|thumb|right|''Pilum'']]
The '''''pilum''''' ({{IPA|la|ˈpiːɫʊ̃|lang}}; {{plural form}}: ''pila'') was a [[javelin]] commonly used by the [[Roman army]] in ancient times. It was generally about {{convert|2|m|abbr=on}} long overall, consisting of an iron shank about {{convert|7|mm|abbr=on}} in diameter and {{convert|600|mm|abbr=on}} long with a pyramidal head, attached to a wooden shaft by either a socket or a flat [[Tang (tools)|tang]].

== History ==
The ''pilum ''may have originated from an Italic tribe known as the [[Samnites]].<ref>{{Cite book |url=http://doi.wiley.com/10.1002/9780470996577 |title=A Companion to the Roman Army |date=2007|publisher=Blackwell Publishing Ltd |isbn=978-0-470-99657-7 |editor-last=Erdkamp |editor-first=Paul |location=Oxford, UK |pages=8 |language=en |doi=10.1002/9780470996577}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Jeon |first1=Jeong-hwan |last2=Kim |first2=Sung-kyu |last3=Koh |first3=Jin-hwan |date=2015-12-22 |title=Historical review on the patterns of open innovation at the national level: the case of the roman period |journal=Journal of Open Innovation: Technology, Market, and Complexity |volume=1 |issue=2 |pages=20 |doi=10.1186/s40852-015-0026-4 
|issn=2199-8531 |doi-access=free |hdl=10419/176513 |hdl-access=free }}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Марибор |first=IZUM-Институтp информацијских знаности |title=Greco-Macedonian Influences in the Manipular Legion System :: M + |url=https://plus.cobiss.net/cobiss/sr/sr/bib/228051980 |access-date=2023-03-15 |journal=Arheologija I Prirodne Nauke |issue=11 |pages=145–154 |language=sr}}</ref> It also may 
have been influenced by [[Celtiberians|Celtiberian]] and [[Etruscan civilization|Etruscan]] weapons.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Quesada Sanz |first=Fernando |date=2006 |title=Not so different: individual fighting techniques and small unit tactics of Roman and Iberian armies within the framework of warfare in the Hellenistic Age |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/43684935 |journal=Pallas |issue=7pm 0 |pages=245–263 |jstor=43684935 |issn=0031-0387}}</ref> The ''pilum'' may have derived from a Celtiberian weapon known as the'' [[falarica]]''.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Nardo |first=Don |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=gVSWpwAACAAJ |title=The Roman Army: An Instrument of Power |date=2004 |publisher=Lucent Books |isbn=978-1-59018-316-8 |pages=34 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |year=2006 |title=Not so different: individual fighting techniques and battle tactics of Roman and Iberian armies within the framework of warfare in the Hellenistic Age |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/238749568 |journal=Actes du Colloque International de Toulouse |via=
[[ResearchGate]]}}</ref> [[Archaeological excavation]]s have disclosed ''pila'' in tombs at the Etruscan city of [[Tarquinia]].<ref>{{Cite book |last1=D’Amato |first1=Raffaele |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=sDFjDwAAQBAJ |title=The Etruscans: 9th–2nd Centuries BC |last2=Salimbeti |first2=Andrea |date=2018|publisher=Bloomsbury Publishing |isbn=978-1-4728-2830-9 |language=en}}</ref> The oldest finds of pila are from the Etruscan settlements of [[Vulci]] and [[Talamone]].<ref>{{Citation |last1=Bohec |first1=Le |title=Pilum |date=2006|url=https://referenceworks.brillonline.com/entries/brill-s-new-pauly/*-e925410 |work=Brill’s New Pauly |access-date=2023-03-15 |publisher=Brill |language=en |last2=Yann (Lyon)}}</ref> The first identified written reference to the ''pilum'' comes from [[The Histories (Polybius)|''The Histories'']] of [[Polybius]]. According to Polybius, more heavily armed Roman military soldiers used a spear called the ''hyssoí''. This may have been the ''pilum''. The precursor to the ''pilum'' was the ''[[Hasta (spear)|hasta]]''.<ref>{{Citation |last=Petrocelli |first=Corrado |title=Tactics: Republic |date=2015|url=https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/9781118318140.wbra1478 |encyclopedia=The Encyclopedia of the Roman Army |pages=979–1028 |editor-last=Le Bohec |editor-first=Yann |access-date=2023-03-15 |place=Chichester, UK |publisher=John Wiley & Sons, Ltd |language=en |doi=10.1002/9781118318140.wbra1478 |isbn=978-1-118-31814-0}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Meiklejohn |first=K. W. |date=1938 |title=Roman Strategy and Tactics from 509 to 202 b.c. |url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/greece-and-rome/article/abs/roman-strategy-and-tactics-from-509-to-202-bc/7971F518CA1E4468BBCEAFD296D42042 |journal=Greece & Rome |language=en |volume=7 |issue=21 |pages=170–178 |doi=10.1017/S0017383500005623 |s2cid=162206844 |issn=1477-4550}}</ref> It is unclear how soon it was replaced by the ''pilum''.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Elliott |first=Simon |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=GGUHEAAAQBAJ |title=Romans at War: The Roman Military in the Republic and Empire |date=2020|publisher=Casemate |isbn=978-1-61200-886-8 |language=en}}</ref> Polybius mentioned that it was an important contributor to the Roman victory at the [[Battle of Telamon]] in 225 BCE.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Nijboer |first=Albert |date=1991 |title=Funerary Symbols on the Temple Decorations from the Talamonaccio |url=https://research.rug.nl/en/publications/funerary-symbols-on-the-temple-decorations-from-the-talamonaccio |journal=Papers from the Institute of Archaeology |volume=2 |pages=17–29 |doi=10.5334/pia.19 |issn=2041-9015 |doi-access=free }}</ref> Use of the ''pilum'' was discontinued by Roman military in the second century.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Kerrigan |first=Michael |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-4AVAQAAMAAJ |title=Ancient Rome and the Roman Empire |date=2001 |publisher=DK Pub. |isbn=978-0-7894-8153-5 |page=42 |language=en}}</ref>

==Design==
A ''pilum'' had a total weight between {{convert|2|and|5|lb|order=flip|round=0.5|kg|abbr=on}},{{Citation needed|reason=2 to 5 pounds seems too heavy|date=February 2018}} with the versions produced during the earlier [[Roman Republic|Republic]] being slightly heavier than those produced in the later [[Roman Empire|Empire]].

The weapon had a hard pyramidal tip, but the shank was sometimes made of softer iron. The softness could cause the shank to bend after impact, thus rendering the weapon useless to the enemy.<ref>{{cite web |title=The Pilum (Spear) |url=https://romanmilitary.net/tools/pilum/ |access-date=1 January 2021 |website=romanmilitary.net}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |url=http://archive.org/details/weaponvisualhist0000unse_x0p6 |title=Weapon : a visual history of arms and armor |date=2013 |publisher=New York : DK Publishing |via=Internet Archive |isbn=978-5-00100-945-0 |pages=8 |language=en}}</ref> According to Davide Antonio Secci, the ''pilum'' was not meant to bend on impact, but instead was meant to break.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Secci |first=Davide Antonio |date=2012-01-01 |title=Priam's Spear and Pyrrhus' Shield (Verg. A. 2.544-6)1) |url=https://brill.com/view/journals/mnem/65/3/article-p413_4.xml |journal=Mnemosyne |language=en |volume=65 |issue=3 |pages=413–424 |doi=10.1163/156852511X547956 |issn=0026-7074}}</ref>  If a ''pilum'' struck a shield, it might embed itself, and the bending of the shank would force the enemy to discard his shield as unusable without removing the ''pilum'', or carry around the shield burdened by the weight of the ''pilum''.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Anglim |first1=Simon |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=13SV4nOCLHsC |title=Fighting Techniques of the Ancient World (3000 B.C. to 500 A.D.): Equipment, Combat Skills, and Tactics |last2=Rice |first2=Rob S. |last3=Jestice |first3=Phyllis |last4=Rusch |first4=Scott |last5=Serrati |first5=John |date=2003 |publisher=Macmillan |isbn=978-0-312-30932-9 |pages=7 |language=en}}</ref> Even if the shank did not bend, the pyramidal tip still made it difficult to pull out. Many cases occurred, though, in which the whole shank was hardened, making the ''pilum'' more suitable as a close-quarters melee weapon and also making it usable by enemy soldiers.<ref name="Cowan200322">{{cite book |last=Cowan |first=Ross |title=Roman legionary: 58 BC - AD 69 |publisher=Osprey Publishing |year=2003 |isbn=978-1-84176-600-3 |pages=25–26 |chapter=Equipment |access-date=8 February 2012 |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0TKO7lOzuxMC&pg=PA25 }}{{Dead link|date=May 2024 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref>

Although the bending of its shank is commonly seen as an integral part of the weapon's design and as an intentional feature, little evidence suggests that. The most commonly found artifacts suggest that the ''pilum'' was constructed to use the weight of the weapon to cause damage, most likely to be able to impale through [[armour]] and reach the enemy soldier's body. The combination of the weapon's weight and the aforementioned pyramidal tip (the design of which was seen in the [[Middle Ages]] in the form of [[bodkin arrow]] tips), made the ''pilum'' a formidable armour-piercing weapon. If the weapon was meant to be used against armour and to use its mass (as opposed to its speed) to cause damage, the bending of the shank seems to be a beneficial result of its intended use, which is to pierce through layers of armour. That the ''pilum'' needed to pierce layers of armour (through the shield, into body armour and past clothing) necessitated a lengthy shank, which was prone to bending. M.C. Bishop wrote that the momentum of the ''pilum'' caused the shank to bend upon impact, and although unintended, that proved a useful characteristic of the weapon.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Bishop |first1=M.C. |title=Roman Military Equipment from the Punic Wars to the Fall of Rome |last2=Coulston |first2=J.C.N. |date=2009 |publisher=Oxford Books |isbn=9781842171592 |edition=2nd |location=Oxford, UK |pages=50–51}}</ref> However, a newer work by M. C. Bishop states that ''pila'' are "unlikely to bend under their own weight when thrown and striking a target or ground"; rather, human intervention such as improper removal of a ''pilum'' stuck in a target is responsible in some way, and Caesar's writings should be interpreted as the ''pilum'' bending when soldiers tried to remove them.<ref name="The Pilum: The Roman Heavy Javelin22">{{cite book |last1=Bishop |first1=M.C. |title=The Pilum: The Roman Heavy Javelin |date=2017 |publisher=Osprey Publishing |isbn=978-1472815880}}</ref>
[[File:AdamclisiMetope27.jpg|left|thumb|Legionaries carrying ''pila'', as depicted on the [[Tropaeum Traiani]]]]
Since the pyramidal tip of a ''pilum'' was wider than the rest of the shank, once it had penetrated a shield, it left behind a hole larger than the rest of the shank, and it could move through the shield with little resistance, stabbing the soldier behind. The length of the shank and its depth of penetration also made pulling it out of a shield more difficult, even if it failed to bend. If the bearer of the shield was charging and a ''pilum'' penetrated the shield, the end of the heavy shaft of the ''pilum'' would hit the ground, holding the shield in place. Some ''pila'' had a spike on the end of the shaft, which made it easier to dig into the ground.{{citation needed|date=July 2017}}

The two versions of ''pila'' are heavy and light. Pictorial evidence suggests that some versions of the weapon were weighted by a lead ball to increase penetrative power, but archaeological specimens of that design variant are not (so far) known.<ref>Connolly, 1998, p233.</ref> Recent experiments have shown ''pila'' to have a range around {{convert|33|m|ft|sigfig=2|abbr=on}}, although the effective range is up to {{convert|15|-|20|m|abbr=on|round=5}}. The earliest known examples of heavy ''pila'' have barbed heads and their tangs have a figure-eight shape.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Bishop |first1=M.C. |title=Roman Military Equipment from the Punic Wars to the Fall of Rome |last2=Coulston |first2=J.C.N. |date=2009 |publisher=Oxford Books |isbn=9781842171592 |edition=2nd |page=52}}</ref>

Romans also used the ''pilum'' as a melee weapon in close-quarters combat.<ref name="The Pilum: The Roman Heavy Javelin22" /> Note pictorial depictions from the [[Tropaeum Traiani]] monument, descriptions of [[Julius Caesar|Caesar]]'s troops using javelins as [[Pike (weapon)|pikes]] against the Gauls in Caesar's [[Commentarii de Bello Gallico|''Gallic War'']], Book VII, and descriptions of Caesar's men using javelins to stab at Pompey's cavalry in [[Plutarch]]'s [[Parallel Lives|''Life of Caesar'']].

The ''[[angon]]'' was a similar weapon used in late Roman and post-Roman times.

The origin of the design of the ''pilum'' is a matter of contention. Arguments have been proposed which suggest that the design stemmed from ancient Italian tribes or from the Iberian Peninsula. Considering that two versions of the ''pilum'' are known (the heavy and the light), the Roman ''pilum'' may be descended from two different weapons, perhaps from different cultural groups. The two weapons designs may have coalesced into the form of the typical Roman ''pilum'' as it is known today.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Bishop |first1=M. C. |title=Roman Military Equipment from the Punic Wars to the Fall of Rome |last2=Coulston |first2=J. C. N. |date=2009 |publisher=Oxford Books |isbn=9781842171592 |edition=2nd |location=Oxford, UK |page=52}}</ref>

==Tactics==
{{main|Roman infantry tactics}}[[Legionary|Legionaries]] of the late [[Roman Republic|Republic]] and early [[Roman Empire|Empire]] often carried two ''pila'', with one sometimes being lighter than the other. Standard tactics called for Roman soldiers to throw one of them (both if time permitted) at the enemy, just before charging to engage with the ''[[gladius]]'';<ref name=":0">{{Cite journal |last=Slavik |first=Jordan F. |date=2017 |title=Pilum and Telum: The Roman Infantryman's Style of Combat in the Middle Republic |url=https://muse.jhu.edu/pub/1/article/801439 |journal=Classical Journal |volume=113 |issue=2 |pages=151–171 |doi=10.1353/tcj.2017.0032 |issn=2327-5812}}</ref> however, [[Alexander Zhmodikov]] has argued that the Roman infantry could use ''pila'' at any stage in the fighting.<ref>Zhmodikov, Alexander, 2000, "Roman Republican Heavy Infantrymen in Battle (IV–II Centuries B.C.)," in ''Historia: Zeitschrift für Alte Geschichte'', vol. 49 no. 1.</ref> Zhmodikov has also argued that Roman battle tactics sometimes consisted of exchanging projectile weapons such as the pilum. [[Sam Koon]] argues against the idea that Roman tactics primarily consisted of projectile combat.<ref name=":0" />

The effect of the ''pilum'' throw was to disrupt the enemy formation by attrition and by causing gaps to appear in any protective shield wall.<ref name="Cowan200322"/> The design of the ''pilum''{{'}}s tip is such that once wedged inside a shield, it is difficult to remove; a shield thus penetrated by a ''pilum'' became very awkward to wield, and was usually discarded. This resulted in the aforementioned gaps in the protective shield wall, which could then favour the short ''gladius'' in tight hand-to-hand mêlées.

''Pila'' could also be used in hand-to-hand combat; one [[De Bello Gallico|documented instance]] of this occurred at the [[Siege of Alesia]], and another during [[Mark Antony|Mark Antony's]] Parthian campaign.<ref>"''tois yssois paiontes.''" {{Cite web |author=Plutarch |title=Life of Mark Antony, 45.3 |url=https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A2008.01.0077%3Achapter%3D45%3Asection%3D3 |access-date=2011-09-27}}</ref> Additionally, ''pila'' could be employed as a thrusting implement and a barrier against cavalry charges.<ref>[[Arrian]]'s Array against the Alans. "And the front four ranks of the formation must be of spearmen, whose spearpoints end in thin iron shanks. And the foremost of them should hold them at the ready, in order that when the enemies come near them, they can thrust the iron points of the spears at the breast of the horses in particular. Those standing in second, third and fourth rank of the formation must hold their spears ready for thrusting if possible, wounding the horses and killing the horsemen and put the rider out of action with the spear stuck in their heavy body armour and the iron point bent because of the softness. The following ranks should be of the javelineers."{{Cite web |author=Dorst, Sander van |title=Arrian's Array against the Alans |url=http://members.tripod.com/~S_van_Dorst/Ancient_Warfare/Rome/Sources/ektaxis.html |access-date=2010-10-03}}</ref> Some ''pila'' had small hand-guards, to protect the wielder if he intended to use it as a mêlée weapon, but apparently this was common.{{citation needed|date=July 2017}}

==Vegetius' commentary==
[[File:Bent_pilum_tip-transparent.png|thumb|Bent ''pilum'' shank]]
The [[Ancient Rome|Roman]] writer [[Vegetius]], in his work ''[[De re militari]]'', wrote:

{{blockquote|As to the missile weapons of the infantry, they were javelins headed with a triangular sharp iron, eleven inches [279 mm]  or a foot long, and were called piles. When once fixed in the shield it was impossible to draw them out, and when thrown with force and skill, they penetrated the cuirass without difficulty.<ref>{{Cite web | author=Vegetius | title=Book I | work=De Re Militari | url=http://www.digitalattic.org/home/war/vegetius/index.php#b118 | access-date=2006-08-24 | archive-date=2021-05-06 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210506193525/https://www.digitalattic.org/home/war/vegetius/index.php#b118 | url-status=dead }}</ref>}}

And later in the same work:

{{blockquote|They had likewise two other javelins, the largest of which was composed of a staff five feet and a half long and a triangular head of iron nine inches [230 mm] long. This was formerly called the pilum, but now it is known by the name of spiculum. The soldiers were particularly exercised in the use of this weapon, because when thrown with force and skill it often penetrated the shields of the foot and the cuirasses of the horse.<ref>{{Cite web | author=Vegetius | title=Book II | work=De Re Militari | url=http://www.digitalattic.org/home/war/vegetius/index.php#b209 | access-date=2006-08-24 | archive-date=2021-05-06 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210506193525/https://www.digitalattic.org/home/war/vegetius/index.php#b209 | url-status=dead }}</ref>}}

Arguably, a short iron shaft has very few confirmations from archaeology. Vegetius wrote about a one-foot iron shaft because at his time, the ''pilum'' had disappeared and been replaced by similar shorter weapons such as the ''plumbata'' and ''spiculum''.

==Results of experimental archaeology==
Due in part to [[experimental archaeology]],  the design of the ''pilum'' is believed to have evolved to be armour-piercing; the pyramidal head would punch a small hole through an enemy shield, allowing the thin shank to pass through and penetrate far enough to wound the man behind it. The thick wooden shaft provided the weight behind the punch.

In one description, one of the two iron nails that held the iron shaft in place was replaced with a weak wooden pin that would break on impact, causing the shaft to twist sideways. [[Gaius Marius]] is sometimes given credit for that modification.<ref>Plutarch, "Gaius Marius", 25.2</ref> Archaeological evidence from the 80s&nbsp;BC through to the early imperial era show that this redesign was not adopted.<ref>{{harvnb|Taylor|2019|p=78}}; {{harvnb|Matthew|2010|pp=65–66|ps=. Matthew believes the redesign was a one-time expedient and that Marius's rapid departure from active command in the immediate aftermath of victory over the Cimbri prevented the redesign from being fully adopted.}}</ref>

==Gallery==
<gallery>
Image:Pilum lg.jpg|[[Anastylosis|Reconstruction]] of a [[Marian reforms|post-Marian]] ''pilum''
Image:RV Antoniniano Carinus - transparent background.PNG|A Roman coin showing an ''[[antoninianus]]'' of Carinus holding ''pilum'' and globe
Image:Pilum.jpg|Close-up of re-enactment ''pila''
</gallery>

==See also==
{{Portal|Ancient Rome}}
* [[Lance]]
* [[Lancea (weapon)|''Lancea'' (weapon)]]
* [[Polearm]]
* [[Projectile]]
* [[Roman military personal equipment]]
* [[Spear]]
* ''[[Verutum]]''

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

== Further reading ==
{{Refbegin}}
* Connolly, Peter. ''Greece and Rome at War''. Reprint: Greenhill Books, 1998 {{ISBN|1-85367-303-X}}.
* Connolly, Peter. "The ''pilum'' from Marius to Nero: a reconsideration of its development and function", ''Journal of Roman Military Equipment Studies'', vol. 12/13, 2001/2, pp.&nbsp;1–8.
* {{Cite journal |last=Matthew |first=Christopher |date=2010 |title=The Battle of Vercellae and the alteration of the heavy javelin (''pilum'') by Gaius Marius |url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/antichthon/article/abs/battle-of-vercellae-and-the-alteration-of-the-heavy-javelin-pilum-by-gaius-marius-101-bc/25E9ABE7203DB3178C959268C1C72E15 |journal=Antichthon |volume=44 |pages=50–67 |doi=10.1017/S0066477400002070 |s2cid=145449944 |issn=0066-4774}}
* {{Cite journal |last=Taylor |first=Michael J |date=2019 |title=Tactical reform in the late Roman republic: the view from Italy |url=https://biblioscout.net/article/10.25162/historia-2019-0004 |journal=Historia |volume=68 |issue=1 |pages=76–94 |doi=10.25162/historia-2019-0004 |s2cid=165437350 |issn=0018-2311}}
* {{Cite book |last = Plutarch |author-link = Plutarch |translator = Rex Warner |translator2 = Robin Seager |title = Penguin Classics: Fall of the Roman Republic |publisher = Penguin Classic |edition=Revised |year = 2005 |isbn = 978-0-14-044934-1 |url-access = registration |url = https://archive.org/details/fallofromanrepub00plut_0 }}
{{Refend}}

==External links==
{{commons category|Pilums}}
* [[Ross Cowan]], [https://www.academia.edu/80274939 The Samnite Pilum]
* Ross Cowan, [https://www.academia.edu/80274942 Etruscan and Gallic Pila]
* [http://www.caerleon.net/history/army/pilum.htm The Pilum - The Roman Spear], Caerleon's Roman Legion
* [http://www.romancoins.info/MilitaryEquipment-spear.html Lance / Spear / Pilum / Catapult points], www.romanlegions.info
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20061030054732/http://www.ecomuseodecavalleria.com/en/flecha.asp Archaeological discovery of a pilum], Ecomuseum de Cap de Cavalleria.

[[Category:Ancient Roman legionary equipment]]
[[Category:Ancient weapons]]
[[Category:European weapons]]
[[Category:Javelins]]
[[Category:Roman spears]]
[[Category:Throwing spears]]