Verutum

The verutum, or plural veruti ( _la. spit) was a short javelin used in the Roman army. This javelin was used by the velites for skirmishing unlike the heavier pilum used by the hastati and principes for softening the enemy before advancing into close combat. The verutum's shaft was about 1.1 meters long, much shorter than the 2 meters pilum, and its point measured about 13 centimeters long. The verutum had either an iron shank like the pilum or a tapering metal head.

The verutum was adopted from the Samnites and the Volsci. During the 3rd and 2nd centuries BC Roman light infantry known as velites would carry seven veruta into combat, proving to be quite effective weapons, even against war elephants as proven in the battle of Zama. In the late 2nd century BC the verutum was taken out of service along with the velite but the javelin was taken back into the legionary arsenal during the Late Empire.

ee also

*Pole weapon
*Javelin
*Pilum
*Lancea
*Spiculum
*Roman military personal equipment

References

*Carr, Thomas Swinburne (1836). "A manual of Roman antiquities, Oxford: Oxford University Press, p. 234 note. [http://books.google.com/books?id=5HkBAAAAQAAJ&pg=PA234&lpg=PA234&dq=verutum+javelin&source=web&ots=MrhbfG_O4D&sig=ROxubD0jS82ggg2g15HhohQd_PA]
*"Glossary of Latin Words", Bible History Online. (File retrieved 10-19-07) [http://www.bible-history.com/latin/latin_v.html]