Two kinds of sarissa?

[Paralus]

Matthew's book is a great read and I had the honor of reviewing the manuscript and sending back notes prior to it being published. I personally don't know of any additional connector tubes that have been found besides the well-known one from the tomb. I have always been highly skeptical of a sarissa having a connecting tube between two halves. Especially when you consider the small length of the one found, it just doesn't make sense in terms of structural integrity.

I'd like to see Matthew's rationale for the longche not being a throwing / thrusting spear. I cannot for the life of me see that a longche was 'half' a sarisa. Like Rocktupac, I do not hold with the connector tube theory and for much the same reasoning. I'd also add that the only (posited) one found has no nail holes thus meaning that friction alone held such together. Were I a phalangite, I'd be most concerned planting my sarisa into the enemy for fear of leaving the business half behind on withdrawal. While our sources describe infantry facing the sarisa phalanx as pulling at the weapon, none describe them pulling the business half out of this supposed connector. That can really be the only result of doing so for if the enemy cannot pull the front from the socket how does a phalangite disassemble it?

Matthew is rather well known for some 'out there' theorising.