Pilum. Roman heavy javelin with weight, 1st-3rd century AD
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From the Flavian period onwards, a very specific type of pilum appears in Roman iconographic sources. This new typology appears in visual sources such as the Rilievi della Cancelleria and the metopes of the Tropaeum Traiani in Adamclisi, Romania.
It is a pilum featuring a sphere beneath the pyramidal wooden frame (the latter is the part that houses the pilum’s long metal tip). We have no evidence of this metal sphere or of this type of Roman pilum with weight in general. However, we can assume that the sphere was made of metal.
The pilum is, in fact, a heavy javelin, designed both to inflict serious damage on the legionaries’ opponents and to prevent them from using shields and armor if the pilum does not reach its target. The added weight was intended to increase the pilum’s penetrating power.
Contrary to popular belief, the pilum was not solely a throwing weapon. It could also be used as a melee weapon, similar to a spear. Iconographic evidence of this use during the Imperial period includes the metopes of the Tropaeum Traiani, which often depict the pilum being used in this manner.
