11-08-2006, 10:30 PM
Oh I agree Paul- I'm not a fan of the theory either for the same reasons, I mean if it were necessary or significantly advantageous, there'd have been lots of them- but then why haven't we found any evidence? There are lots of pilum shanks but none of the supposed weights? Difficult to reconcile.
The thing is that lead, presuming the ball is a separate element in the first place, does make the most sense. Ceramic is too fragile and difficult to replace, wood wouldn't function well as a weight, and copper alloy would be WAY too costly, especially when less lead, which is easier to work with and cheaper, would do the job.
Of course it could simply be carved decorative element for all we know- not exactly a high priority on a missile weapon like the pilum, but those depicted could be parade versions (which the eagles on the 'weight' could indicate).
And there's a later parallel that's undeniable: the plumbata. Lead is used to weight the darts, so it's not unreasonable to look at the sculptures and see the resemblance. Of course there's the fact that plumbata are just little darts and the small lead weight on them was deemed sufficient for use and surely the pilum without any additional weight was heavier than a complete dart, so that again returns us to the question of whether the pilum really needed any additional weight...
The thing is that lead, presuming the ball is a separate element in the first place, does make the most sense. Ceramic is too fragile and difficult to replace, wood wouldn't function well as a weight, and copper alloy would be WAY too costly, especially when less lead, which is easier to work with and cheaper, would do the job.
Of course it could simply be carved decorative element for all we know- not exactly a high priority on a missile weapon like the pilum, but those depicted could be parade versions (which the eagles on the 'weight' could indicate).
And there's a later parallel that's undeniable: the plumbata. Lead is used to weight the darts, so it's not unreasonable to look at the sculptures and see the resemblance. Of course there's the fact that plumbata are just little darts and the small lead weight on them was deemed sufficient for use and surely the pilum without any additional weight was heavier than a complete dart, so that again returns us to the question of whether the pilum really needed any additional weight...
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