05-13-2014, 02:01 PM
Hard on the heals of yet another find of Roman presence deep inside Germany, long after the Varus disaster, is something I'd like to hear a few opinions on. One class of finds among plumbata are the 'doubtfuls', barbed heads without a lead weight that remain in doubt whether they are belonging to plumbatae or javelin heads. In some cases I have severe doubts when an author labels a find as a plumbata, but in others I'm not so sure if a javelin head really is just that.
In this case the doubt is added to by the position - the find originates from a region about 50 km NNW from Leipzig (see map below) but about double that distance away from the Harzhorn battlefield and the recently discovered marching camp.
The object itself could of course be a javelin. Archaeolologists dubbed it an 'angon' but also realised that's it's by far too short to be that. The dating is late Roman (4th c.) and other military objects from this period (pieces of the military belt) have been found in the same area. No details of the site are known.
[attachment=9874]Mosigkau200mm.jpg[/attachment]
What do you think?
Here's the map with the find deep inside Germany:
[attachment=9873]plumbataemap2014-04-01.jpg[/attachment]
In this case the doubt is added to by the position - the find originates from a region about 50 km NNW from Leipzig (see map below) but about double that distance away from the Harzhorn battlefield and the recently discovered marching camp.
The object itself could of course be a javelin. Archaeolologists dubbed it an 'angon' but also realised that's it's by far too short to be that. The dating is late Roman (4th c.) and other military objects from this period (pieces of the military belt) have been found in the same area. No details of the site are known.
[attachment=9874]Mosigkau200mm.jpg[/attachment]
What do you think?
Here's the map with the find deep inside Germany:
[attachment=9873]plumbataemap2014-04-01.jpg[/attachment]
Robert Vermaat
MODERATOR
FECTIO Late Romans
THE CAUSE OF WAR MUST BE JUST
(Maurikios-Strategikon, book VIII.2: Maxim 12)
MODERATOR
FECTIO Late Romans
THE CAUSE OF WAR MUST BE JUST
(Maurikios-Strategikon, book VIII.2: Maxim 12)