08-26-2016, 06:31 PM
The plumbata didn't replace the pila. The spear as the primary fighting weapon over the sword, that is what replaced the pila. It had nothing to do with manufacturing cost or anything else you are implying, they simply changed infantry tactics, turning legionnaires away from being javelineer swordsmen to spear men fighting in shield wall formations (something the curved scuta was not good for doing).
Your assumption is that Rome was too hurt from the plague to continue making easy to manufacture weapons like pila or armor like segmentata, while at the same time they increased the length and quality of the sword (spatha), the helmets became more complex and harder to make, and they increased the manufacturing of hamata, which is much more harder in time/labor to manufacturer than segmentata.
Your assumption is that Rome was too hurt from the plague to continue making easy to manufacture weapons like pila or armor like segmentata, while at the same time they increased the length and quality of the sword (spatha), the helmets became more complex and harder to make, and they increased the manufacturing of hamata, which is much more harder in time/labor to manufacturer than segmentata.
