08-02-2006, 09:57 AM
Quote:How thick is your shield? Mine is between 7 and 9 mm, and 4 small nails are perfectly sufficient.
Hi Valerius,
Mine is about 12 mm thick. I was also thinking about adding riding straps to it. But I'm not sure if LR cavalry used dished shields. Any idea ?
Quote:We've been discussing this lately and the more I read and think about it, the more I come to the conclusion that the 'plumbatae inside the shield' were not meant for front troops (lines 1 to 4), but especially for the supporting troops (lines 5 to , who then maintained a constant rate of fire over heads of their comrades in front of them.
Makes sense. It seems consistent with the way the Romans tackled the Alans in 135 AD. The front ranks held up their pila as if they were pikes while the rear ranks threw their pila.
Quote:If not, throwing plumbatae would mean getting rid of your hasta first. And throwing them directly from the shield has it's own set of problems, even though both are possible.
Not necessarily, perhaps. Why can't you just stick your spear in the ground before you dispense with your plumbatae ? Just a thought.
BTW, were any cavalry units known to have carried a supply of plumbatae ?
Jaime