The ''verutum'', plural ''veruta'' ( la, spit), was a short javelin used in the

Roman army The Roman army (Latin: ) was the armed forces deployed by the Romans throughout the duration of Ancient Rome, from the Roman Kingdom (c. 500 BC) to the Roman Republic (500–31 BC) and the Roman Empire (31 BC–395 AD), and its medieval contin ...

. This javelin was used by the ''

velites ''Velites'' (singular: ) were a class of infantry in the Roman army of the mid-Republic from 211 to 107 BC. ''Velites'' were light infantry and skirmishers armed with javelins ( la, hastae velitares), each with a 75cm (30 inch) wooden shaft the ...

'' for skirmishing purposes, unlike the heavier ''

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 ...

'', which was used by the ''

hastati ''Hastati'' (singular: ''hastatus'') were a class of infantry employed in the armies of the early Roman Republic, who originally fought as spearmen and later as swordsmen. These soldiers were the staple unit after Rome threw off Etruscan rule ...

'' and ''

principes ''Principes'' (Singular: ''princeps'') were spearmen, and later swordsmen, in the armies of the early Roman Republic. They were men in the prime of their lives who were fairly wealthy, and could afford decent equipment. They were the heavier in ...

'' for weakening the enemy before advancing into close combat. The shafts were about long, substantially shorter than the ''pilum'', and the point measured about long. The ''verutum'' had either an iron shank like the ''pilum'' or a tapering metal head. It was sometimes thrown with the aid of a throwing strap, or ''

amentum An ''amentum'' (Greek ''ἀγκύλη'') was a leather strap attached to a javelin used in ancient Greek athletics, hunting, and warfare, which helped to increase the range and the stability of the javelin in flight. Stability in flight was impo ...

''. The ''verutum'' was probably adopted from the

Samnites The Samnites () were an ancient Italic people who lived in Samnium, which is located in modern inland Abruzzo, Molise, and Campania in south-central Italy. An Oscan-speaking people, who may have originated as an offshoot of the Sabines, they f ...

and the Volsci but there is not enough proof for that. During the 3rd and 2nd centuries BC, Roman light infantry (''velites'') would carry seven ''veruta'' into combat. It proved to be quite an effective weapon, 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 ''veles'', but the javelin was taken back into the legionary arsenal during the Late Empire.

References

*Carr, Thomas Swinburne (1836)
''A manual of Roman antiquities''
Oxford: Oxford University Press, p. 234 note. Ancient weapons Javelins Ancient Roman legionary equipment Roman spears Latin words and phrases {{Polearm-stub

See also

References