the Roman throwing spear, with a small, leaf-shaped head set on a long, thin iron neck riveted to a wooden shaft. The pilum was an anti-shield weapon, meant to stick in enemy shields and way them down. The Franks and Saxons adopted it at the angon.

Roman throwing spear. It was against-shields, meaning that it could knock down its opponents.

The pilum (plural pila) was a heavy javelin commonly used by the Roman army in ancient times. It was generally about two meters long overall, consisting of an iron shank about 7 mm in diameter and 60 cm long with pyramidal head. The iron shank may be socketed or more usually widens to a flat tang, this was secured to a wooden shaft.