01-23-2006, 09:04 PM
Don't feel stupid- we all had to learn at one time 
As for 'combat' testing, people could simply be describing experiments vs. a target rather than agains a real person. Some I've read about used actual armor, etc., just without a person inside to see what the effect of the weapon would be. Also, because plumbata are so much smaller than pila, it's rather more possible to make a padded-tipped version for mock use (a pilum's probably too heavy for this).
As for 'combat' testing, people could simply be describing experiments vs. a target rather than agains a real person. Some I've read about used actual armor, etc., just without a person inside to see what the effect of the weapon would be. Also, because plumbata are so much smaller than pila, it's rather more possible to make a padded-tipped version for mock use (a pilum's probably too heavy for this).
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