Plumbata

[Robert Vermaat]

Well here we go I did this experiment many years ago so bear with me.When I first came across the Plumbata as ever I wandered on to how it could be mass made under Fabrica and battle conditions.

Thanks Tony!!

The barbs that have been found,all seam to be the same with minor variants these are the two main types for fixing to the shaft;
Wroxeter: this has a socketed shaft.
Richabourgh: this has a tapered shaft.

I think you conflate Richborough with Burgh Castle here, and which is the only used as an example in literature for a tapered or tanged shaft.

Most barbs seems the same, with only a single find of a triple-pointed head, but a few more without barbs.

The bucket containes clay from the Roman levels that Hadrians wall is built on ( I do strive to be authentic ) with the two types of former to make the impression.The shafts were made of various hard woods as well as green wood with and without bark.

very good idea! I used a plaster cast so far, but clay would be much easier for a 'fast construction weapon'!

The Wroxeter type the head tends to be weaker after throwing as the head tended to be loose after hitting the ground. The Richabourgh type with haveing the shaft tapered and inserted into a hole in the shaft were much stronger, and as I thought at least two of the barbs came out of the lead and were still in the ground. Some finds have been found without lead.

OK, so tanged is better.. They split my shafts though, which is not nice if you need to repair them (re-do is better) over and over again.. I've noticed that many re-enactment groups like sockets better, meaning they only need to replace the wood, not do the lead all over again...

The length of the Plumbata I made were approx 12" long,However I tried to make one to Russel Robinsons dimentions 3 feet long but I could not come to seeing how it would work :?: So I made one approx 30" long so long as it didnt hit the ground when throwing. As you can see top is the first one I made ,The bottom is what I think is the more sensible size.

A metre long would be too long indeed. i even think more than 50 cm would be to long.. Indeed, I agree that the shorter one look more sensible!

brennivs (tony drake)\\n[quote]The top one is interesting as it is very heavy the lead is square and has a armour piercing point were it was found I dont no but I copied it from a picture, you know when this one hits the ground. The other is also unusual with a twisted shaft (Volling ).

How heavy are they? If you rad Völling, it's probably modelled (a bit :wink: ) after the Olympia plumbata, which is far more sturdy and heavier than all the others (100+) plumbatae found. Kolias thought this was the evolution towards a mace! hock:

All very well done!!