Military · Roman Empire Daily
The Roman pilum was designed so its iron shank bent on impact, so it couldn't be thrown back.
Deep dive
When a pilum struck a shield, the soft neck bent, making the weapon useless to the enemy and weighing down the shield so it had to be dropped. Caesar describes the effect in his account of the Gallic Wars.
Source: Caesar, 'The Gallic War,' 1.25.
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