03-01-2008, 03:01 PM
Donciorate, you might be right. That's a pretty expensive weapon for a throwaway. It's not an easy task to hammer out a curved blade and temper it, while the metal part of a pilum can be made in just a half hour or less. I wonder what the now armorless, falxless soldier was supposed to do to survive the battle once he'd disabled a scutum? (the general consensus around these parts is that the primary purpose of the pilum was to penetrate the shield and pierce the soldier carrying it)
My modified guess would be that if the falx became lodged in the enemy shield, it would not have achieved its primary intent. What makes that hooked blade so very dangerous is that it can reach over and behind the scutum's top edge to puncture, perhaps, the helmet or pierce the neck of the soldier behind the scutum, while still keeping the falxman out of reach of the gladius. A sica has the same ability, though much shorter in reach.
My modified guess would be that if the falx became lodged in the enemy shield, it would not have achieved its primary intent. What makes that hooked blade so very dangerous is that it can reach over and behind the scutum's top edge to puncture, perhaps, the helmet or pierce the neck of the soldier behind the scutum, while still keeping the falxman out of reach of the gladius. A sica has the same ability, though much shorter in reach.
M. Demetrius Abicio
(David Wills)
Saepe veritas est dura.
(David Wills)
Saepe veritas est dura.
