Verutum

Part of a series on the
Military of ancient Rome 753 BC – AD 476
Structural history
Army Unit types and ranks Legions Auxilia Generals Navy Fleets Admirals
Campaign history
Wars and battles Decorations and punishments
Technological history
Military engineering Castra Siege engines Triumphal arches Roads
Political history
Strategy and tactics
Infantry tactics Frontiers and fortifications Limes Limes Britannicus Antonine Wall Hadrian's Wall Saxon Shore Limes Germanicus Alb Limes Lauter Valley Limes Lower Germanic Limes Main Limes Neckar-Odenwald Limes Upper Germanic-Rhaetian Limes Wetterau Limes Danube–Iller–Rhine Limes Norican Limes Claustra Alpium Iuliarum Pannonian Limes Limes Alutanus Limes Moesiae Trajan's Wall Anastasian Wall Limes Sarmatiae Limes Arabicus Limes Tripolitanus Limes Mauretaniae
Military of ancient Rome portal

The verutum, plural veruta (Latin: spit), was a short javelin used in the Roman army. This javelin was used by the velites for skirmishing purposes, unlike the heavier pilum, which was used by the hastati and principes for softening the enemy before advancing into close combat. The verutum's shaft was about 1.1 meters long, much shorter than the pilum (2 meters), and its point measured about 13 centimeters 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.

The verutum was adopted from the Samnites and the Volsci. 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.

See also

• Pole weapon
• Javelin
• Pilum
• Lancea
• Spiculum
• Roman military personal equipment

References

• Carr, Thomas Swinburne (1836). A manual of Roman antiquities, Oxford: Oxford University Press, p. 234 note.