02-16-2013, 05:48 PM
I wouldn't say it's impossible, but the current evidence IMO leads us to think some kind of non-pugio close combat weapon.
We have Vegetius explicitly mentioning semispathae as a standard weapon. We have finds of short swords, of which we can tell, that they weren't just cut-off broken/bent spathae. We have experience, which shows us, that in a shield-contacting combat distance, the 700-900 mm blade length spatha is basically useless.
IMO the only possible solution here is a sub-500 mm blade length thrusting weapon, which correlates with numerous finds according to the Miks book.
We have Vegetius explicitly mentioning semispathae as a standard weapon. We have finds of short swords, of which we can tell, that they weren't just cut-off broken/bent spathae. We have experience, which shows us, that in a shield-contacting combat distance, the 700-900 mm blade length spatha is basically useless.
IMO the only possible solution here is a sub-500 mm blade length thrusting weapon, which correlates with numerous finds according to the Miks book.
Mark - Legio Leonum Valentiniani