Soliferrum or Soliferreum (

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

: ''solus'', "only" + ''ferrum'', "Iron") was the Roman name for an ancient Iberian ranged

pole weapon A polearm or pole weapon is a close combat weapon in which the main fighting part of the weapon is fitted to the end of a long shaft, typically of wood, thereby extending the user's effective range and striking power. Polearms are predominantly ...

made entirely of

iron Iron () is a chemical element with symbol Fe (from la, ferrum) and atomic number 26. It is a metal that belongs to the first transition series and group 8 of the periodic table. It is, by mass, the most common element on Earth, right in f ...

. The soliferrum was a heavy hand-thrown

javelin A javelin is a light spear designed primarily to be thrown, historically as a ranged weapon, but today predominantly for sport. The javelin is almost always thrown by hand, unlike the sling, bow, and crossbow, which launch projectiles with th ...

, designed to be thrown to a distance of up to 30 meters. In the Iberian language it was known as ''Saunion''.

Design

The soliferrum was forged from a single piece of iron which usually measured 1.5 to 2 meters in length and around one centimeter in diameter. This missile weapon had a narrow, barbed tip so it could pierce

shield A shield is a piece of personal armour held in the hand, which may or may not be strapped to the wrist or forearm. Shields are used to intercept specific attacks, whether from close-ranged weaponry or projectiles such as arrows, by means of a ...

s and

armour Armour (British English) or armor (American English; see spelling differences) is a covering used to protect an object, individual, or vehicle from physical injury or damage, especially direct contact weapons or projectiles during combat, or fr ...

. The tip of the soliferrum came in several forms. In its simplest form, it had only a sharpened tip but usually it had two small spikes or even more. These spikes had one or several hooks, so the weapon would be hard to extract after it had penetrated an enemy's body. The central part of the soliferrum was usually thickened to facilitate the grip of the weapon. Sometimes there were moldings of about ten centimeters long in the middle of the weapon to further improve the grip and thus prevent the weapon from slipping in sweaty or bloody hands.

Advantages

The soliferrum was an extremely effective heavy javelin. The weight and the density of the weapon's iron shaft, its small diameter and its narrow tip gave the soliferrum excellent armor-piercing capacity at close range and enabled it to penetrate even heavy shields.

Usage

Ancient Iberian warriors were heavy users of javelins, casting this ranged weapon by volleys in order to disorganize an enemy formation before advancing to

close combat Close combat means a violent physical confrontation between two or more opponents at short range.''MCRP 3-02B: Close Combat'', Washington, D.C.: Department Of The Navy, Headquarters United States Marine Corps, 12 February 1999Matthews, Phil, CQB ...

with mêlée weapons. The Iberian warrior was typically buried with his soliferrum and all his other weapons.

Origin

Archeological findings suggest that the soliferrum first appeared in the regions of Aquitania and

Languedoc The Province of Languedoc (; , ; oc, Lengadòc ) is a former province of France. Most of its territory is now contained in the modern-day region of Occitanie in Southern France. Its capital city was Toulouse. It had an area of approximately ...

, north of the

Pyrenees The Pyrenees (; es, Pirineos ; french: Pyrénées ; ca, Pirineu ; eu, Pirinioak ; oc, Pirenèus ; an, Pirineus) is a mountain range straddling the border of France and Spain. It extends nearly from its union with the Cantabrian Mountains to C ...

, during the 1st millennium BC. From there, the weapon was brought to the

Iberian Peninsula The Iberian Peninsula (), ** * Aragonese and Occitan: ''Peninsula Iberica'' ** ** * french: Péninsule Ibérique * mwl, Península Eibérica * eu, Iberiar penintsula also known as Iberia, is a peninsula in southwestern Europe, defi ...

by migrating

Celts The Celts (, see pronunciation for different usages) or Celtic peoples () are. "CELTS location: Greater Europe time period: Second millennium B.C.E. to present ancestry: Celtic a collection of Indo-European peoples. "The Celts, an ancien ...

and it was in Iberia that the soliferrum achieved its fame. The soliferrum remained in use in the Iberian peninsula under Roman rule until the end of the 3rd century and it coexisted with the

falarica Falarica, also Phalarica, was an ancient Iberian ranged pole weapon that was sometimes used as an incendiary weapon. Design The Falarica was a heavy javelin with a long, thin iron head of about 90 centimeters in length attached to a wooden s ...

(the Iberian

pilum The ''pilum'' (; plural ''pila'') was a javelin commonly used by the Roman army in ancient times. It was generally about long overall, consisting of an iron shank about in diameter and long with a pyramidal head, attached to a wooden shaft ...

External links

Weapons of the Iberian peninsula
Javelins Ancient weapons Iberian weapons {{weapon-stub

Design

Advantages

Usage

Origin

See also

External links