03-15-2013, 10:53 PM
Quote:Gesith post=333044 Wrote:Which might explain why they seem to mostly be found either on the frontier with a Germanic tribe, or near one of the fabricae.Don't jump to conclusions from the distribution map alone. As Mike Bishop rightly remarks, distribution maps only show where some items were found, not where they all are. Much of this pattern can be explained by plumbatae not being recognised as such (they are often classified as javelin heads) or by archaeology not being of the same standard. Not only are there far more plumbatae to be expected from the Balkan (even more than so far), but also from France and Germany. And I don't believe for one second that the eastern Empire did not use them in Syria.
Of course, it's nothing conclusive, simply a quick theory/thought, hence the word "maybe". Hopefully more digging can be done in the Eastern provinces and in North Africa, and more clear finds can be found.