Soliferrum
Encyclopedia
Soliferrum or Soliferreum (Latin: solus, "only" + ferrum, "Iron") was the Roman name for an ancient Iberian
ranged
pole weapon
made entirely of iron
. The soliferrum was a heavy hand-thrown javelin
, designed to be thrown to a short distance of up to 30 meters. In the Iberian language it was known as Saunion.
s and armour
s. The tip of the soliferrum came in several forms. Sometimes it had only a sharpened tip but usually it had two small spikes and sometimes even more. These spikes had one or several hooks, so the weapon would be hard to extract after it penetrates the enemy's body. The central part or the soliferrum was usually thickened to facilitate the grip of the weapon. Sometimes there were moldings of about ten centimeter long in the middle of the weapon to further improve the grip and to prevent the weapon from slipping because of wet, sweaty or bloody hands.
with mêlée weapon
s. After passing away the Iberian warrior would be buried with his soliferrum and all of his other weapons.
and Languedoc
, right to the North of the Pyrenees
, during the 1st millennium BC
. From there the weapon extended into the Iberian Peninsula
by way of migrating Celts. It was in Iberia where 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
(the Iberian pilum
).
Iberians
The Iberians were a set of peoples that Greek and Roman sources identified with that name in the eastern and southern coasts of the Iberian peninsula at least from the 6th century BC...
ranged
Ranged weapon
A ranged weapon is any weapon that can harm targets at distances greater than hand-to-hand distance. In contrast, a weapon intended to be used in man-to-man combat is called a melee weapon....
pole weapon
Pole weapon
A pole weapon or polearm is a close combat weapon in which the main fighting part of the weapon is placed on the end of a long shaft, typically of wood, thereby extending the user's effective range. Spears, glaives, poleaxes, halberds, and bardiches are all varieties of polearms...
made entirely of iron
Iron
Iron is a chemical element with the symbol Fe and atomic number 26. It is a metal in the first transition series. It is the most common element forming the planet Earth as a whole, forming much of Earth's outer and inner core. It is the fourth most common element in the Earth's crust...
. The soliferrum was a heavy hand-thrown javelin
Javelin
A Javelin is a light spear intended for throwing. It is commonly known from the modern athletic discipline, the Javelin throw.Javelin may also refer to:-Aviation:* ATG Javelin, an American-Israeli civil jet aircraft, under development...
, designed to be thrown to a short 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 and would usually measured between 1.5 to 2 meters in length and around one centimeter in diameter. This missile weapon had a narrow barbed tip so it would pierce through shieldShield
A shield is a type of personal armor, meant to intercept attacks, either by stopping projectiles such as arrows or redirecting a hit from a sword, mace or battle axe to the side of the shield-bearer....
s and armour
Armour
Armour or armor is protective covering used to prevent damage from being inflicted to an object, individual or a vehicle through use of direct contact weapons or projectiles, usually during combat, or from damage caused by a potentially dangerous environment or action...
s. The tip of the soliferrum came in several forms. Sometimes it had only a sharpened tip but usually it had two small spikes and sometimes even more. These spikes had one or several hooks, so the weapon would be hard to extract after it penetrates the enemy's body. The central part or the soliferrum was usually thickened to facilitate the grip of the weapon. Sometimes there were moldings of about ten centimeter long in the middle of the weapon to further improve the grip and to prevent the weapon from slipping because of wet, 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 would grant the soliferrum an excellent armor-piercing capacity at close range and enabled it the ability of even penetrating through heavy shields.Usage
Ancient Iberian warriors were heavy users of javelins. They would cast this ranged weapon by volleys in order to disorganize the enemy formation before advancing to close combatClose combat
*Close combat is a generic term for both Close Quarters Battle and Hand to hand combat.*Mêlée generally refers to disorganized close combat.*CQB is an acronym for Close Quarters Battle, such as that which occurs in urban warfare....
with mêlée weapon
Mêlée weapon
A melee weapon is any weapon that does not involve a projectile — that is, both the user and target of the weapon are in contact with it simultaneously in normal use...
s. After passing away the Iberian warrior would be buried with his soliferrum and all of his other weapons.
Origin
Archeological findings suggest that the soliferrum first appeared in the regions of AquitaniaAquitania
Aquitania may refer to:* the territory of the Aquitani, a people living in Roman times in what is now Aquitaine, France* Aquitaine, a region of France roughly between the Pyrenees, the Atlantic ocean and the Garonne, also a former kingdom and duchy...
and Languedoc
Languedoc
Languedoc is a former province of France, now continued in the modern-day régions of Languedoc-Roussillon and Midi-Pyrénées in the south of France, and whose capital city was Toulouse, now in Midi-Pyrénées. It had an area of approximately 42,700 km² .-Geographical Extent:The traditional...
, right to the North of the Pyrenees
Pyrenees
The Pyrenees is a range of mountains in southwest Europe that forms a natural border between France and Spain...
, during the 1st millennium BC
1st millennium BC
The 1st millennium BC encompasses the Iron Age and sees the rise of many successive empires, and spanned from 1000 BC to 1 BC.The Neo-Assyrian Empire, followed by the Achaemenids. In Greece, Classical Antiquity begins with the colonization of Magna Graecia and peaks with the rise of Hellenism. The...
. From there the weapon extended into the Iberian Peninsula
Iberian Peninsula
The Iberian Peninsula , sometimes called Iberia, is located in the extreme southwest of Europe and includes the modern-day sovereign states of Spain, Portugal and Andorra, as well as the British Overseas Territory of Gibraltar...
by way of migrating Celts. It was in Iberia where the soliferrum achieved its fame. The soliferrum remained in use in the Iberian peninsula under Roman rule
Hispania
Another theory holds that the name derives from Ezpanna, the Basque word for "border" or "edge", thus meaning the farthest area or place. Isidore of Sevilla considered Hispania derived from Hispalis....
until the end of the 3rd century and it coexisted with the falarica
Falarica
Falarica, also Phalarica was an ancient Iberian ranged pole weapon which were sometime 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 shaft of about equal length...
(the Iberian pilum
Pilum
The pilum was a javelin commonly used by the Roman army in ancient times. It was generally about two metres long overall, consisting of an iron shank about 7 mm in diameter and 60 cm long with pyramidal head...
).