Plumbata
Literally: lead-weighted dart
Also known as: martiobarbuli
A late Roman throwing dart with an iron head weighted with lead; a soldier carried five in the hollow of his shield and used them to hit the enemy before javelins came into range.
Quick Facts
About the weapon
Plumbata, literally "lead-weighted dart" (from the Latin plumbum, lead), was a short throwing weapon. The first pieces were apparently carried by the ancient Greeks from roughly 500 BCE, but the best-known users were the late Roman and East Roman armies. The oldest written mention dates to around 300 CE. The weapon is described in Vegetius's De re militari, the anonymous De rebus bellicis, and the Strategikon of the Byzantine emperor Maurice from the 6th century. It was also called martiobarbuli, interpreted as "little barbs of Mars". Archaeological finds show a dart with fletching and an iron head weighted with lead, mounted on a wooden shaft. De rebus bellicis also describes a barbed variant, the plumbata tribolata, which has not yet been confirmed archaeologically. According to the sources, a soldier carried five plumbatae in the hollow of his shield. With them he could wound the enemy's men and horses even before they came within range of ordinary throwing weapons.