Seven spears from same origin?

katana · 23rd September 2007, 01:00 PM

The Roman pilum had a thin shaft between the spear head and the wooden haft. Designed to 'bend' on impact so that the spear could not be thrown back at them. I would imagine that the barbs were a solution to the same problem. Imbedded in a shield and hard to remove, the shield would be heavy and unwieldly, nullifying the defence of your enemy and also preventing them being thrown back. Obviously those that hit their human targets would be also difficult and painful to remove even if they struck non-vital areas of the body. The 'complete' spears that I have are firmly fixed so removing the shaft from the 'imbedded' spear head would not be an option (in the heat of battle.)
I can imagine trying to defend yourself with 6 foot of spear protruding from your body would not be an ideal situation.

My belief is that the triangular barbed heads are mainly for war, the smaller 'oval' headed are hunting / war and the last 'needle pointed' version is likely for 'fishing'.

23rd September 2007, 01:00 PM	#11
katana Member Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Kent Posts: 2,658	The Roman pilum had a thin shaft between the spear head and the wooden haft. Designed to 'bend' on impact so that the spear could not be thrown back at them. I would imagine that the barbs were a solution to the same problem. Imbedded in a shield and hard to remove, the shield would be heavy and unwieldly, nullifying the defence of your enemy and also preventing them being thrown back. Obviously those that hit their human targets would be also difficult and painful to remove even if they struck non-vital areas of the body. The 'complete' spears that I have are firmly fixed so removing the shaft from the 'imbedded' spear head would not be an option (in the heat of battle.) I can imagine trying to defend yourself with 6 foot of spear protruding from your body would not be an ideal situation. My belief is that the triangular barbed heads are mainly for war, the smaller 'oval' headed are hunting / war and the last 'needle pointed' version is likely for 'fishing'.