Plumbatae (singular Plumbata) are weighted darts or "mini-javelins".
Appearing as fletched, short arrows with a lead weight attached to the shaft or head, Plumbatae could be used for stabbing, though they were primarily designed to be thrown. Their heads were typically iron.
Liberius, being handed his plumbatae.
Variations[]
Martiobarbuli[]
A barbed-head form of Plumbata. Its name comes from the Latin "Martio-barbuli" ("little barbs of Mars").
In History[]
With a name meaning "lead-weighted" (plumbum = "lead"), Plumbatae were designed to be issued to infantry soldiers in the ancient world.
They were first carried into battle by Ancient Greeks from around 500BC, though were more commonly used by late Roman and Byzantine armies.
On Screen[]
In the episode A Place In This World, Oenomaus and Liberius battle each other in The Pit. Liberius is given three Plumbatae to fight with, and stabs Oenomaus with one of them. However, Oenomaus eventually wrests one of the Plumbata from Liberius' grip and uses it to stab him repeatedly in the neck.