Spiculum
Encyclopedia
A spiculum is a late Roman spear that replaced the pilum
Pilum
The pilum was a javelin commonly used by the Roman army in ancient times. It was generally about two metres long overall, consisting of an iron shank about 7 mm in diameter and 60 cm long with pyramidal head...

 at around AD 250 as the infantryman's main throwing javelin. Scholars suppose that it could have resulted from the gradual combination of the pilum and two German spears, the angon
Angon
The angon was a type of javelin used during the Early Middle Ages by the Franks and other Germanic peoples including the Anglo-Saxons...

 and the bebra. As more and more Germans joined the Roman army their culture and traditions became a driving force for change. The spiculum is better than the old pilum for retention in the hand, used as a thrusting spear, but still maintaining some of the former weapons penetrative power when thrown.

Vegetius
Vegetius
Publius Flavius Vegetius Renatus, commonly referred to simply as Vegetius, was a writer of the Later Roman Empire. Nothing is known of his life or station beyond what he tells us in his two surviving works: Epitoma rei militaris , and the lesser-known Digesta Artis Mulomedicinae, a guide to...

 mentions the spiculum in his military manual, but some scholars maintain that the spiculum was simply a different name for the pilum. Whatever the case, most historians accept that the spiculum evolved from the earlier javelins used by the Roman army

The main difference between the spiculum and the pilum was the length of the thin point. The spiculum tended to have a much shorter iron point. Thus, the spiculum was significantly shorter than its ancestor, perhaps 190 cm long. The spiculum had a medium iron shank attached to the head. Its exact design is not fully known as there are many variants. The spiculum fell out of favour with the Roman army some time after AD 400.

See also

  • Pole weapon
    Pole weapon
    A pole weapon or polearm is a close combat weapon in which the main fighting part of the weapon is placed on the end of a long shaft, typically of wood, thereby extending the user's effective range. Spears, glaives, poleaxes, halberds, and bardiches are all varieties of polearms...

  • Javelin
    Javelin
    A Javelin is a light spear intended for throwing. It is commonly known from the modern athletic discipline, the Javelin throw.Javelin may also refer to:-Aviation:* ATG Javelin, an American-Israeli civil jet aircraft, under development...

  • Pilum
    Pilum
    The pilum was a javelin commonly used by the Roman army in ancient times. It was generally about two metres long overall, consisting of an iron shank about 7 mm in diameter and 60 cm long with pyramidal head...

  • Verutum
    Verutum
    The verutum, or plural veruta was a short javelin used in the Roman army. This javelin was used by the velites for skirmishing unlike the heavier pilum used by the hastati and principes for softening the enemy before advancing into close combat. The verutum's shaft was about 1.1 meters long, much...

  • Lancea
    Lancea
    The lancea was the Roman auxiliaries' short javelin. According to the OED, the word originally came from the Iberian Language , also cf longche, the Greek term for lance. On Spike TV's show Deadliest Warrior, the lancea was the Celt's mid-range weapon....

  • Roman military personal equipment
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