03-20-2007, 08:15 AM
Quote: I can't help but smile every time I see the plumbata because it always reminds me of the "Lawn Darts" game that we played growing up. But the game/darts are now illegal in the USA because of a few (like 2) kids who threw it up in the air and tried to catch it coming down....and killed themselves.Ouch.. I had not heard the details yet.. Plumbata-catching, a new sport! :wink:
Quote:These would be brutally effective in large numbers, especially launched against unarmored foes. Course, if you missed, you could certainly expect to see it coming right back at you!Devastatingly so. Small wonder that the Late Roman army issued them to almost everyone. They must have been able to stop a charge, cavalry or infantry, dead in its tracks. And in the support role, a constant rate of fire over the heads of the fighting front ranks could ease enemy pressure considerably when they would be constantly forced to protect themselves from incoming missiles.
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)