Initially, a shafted weapon similar to a javelin known as a Roman pilum was discovered squeezed in the rocks' cracks, along with pieces of wood that were part of the swords' scabbards, or sheaths.

The pilum was a Roman javelin crucial to the empire's military success. Its design featured a long iron shank with a pyramidal head, intended to bend upon impact, rendering enemy shields unusable.

Four remarkably preserved Roman swords “in almost mint condition” — with their wooden and leather hilts and steel blades still intact after 1,900 years — have been discovered inside a ...

A cache of ancient weapons from the Roman period has been discovered hidden in a remote cave in Israel. The cache includes four exceptionally well-preserved Roman swords from 1,900 years ago, the ...

Archaeologists have found four Roman swords and a shafted weapon known as a pilum dating from 1,900 years ago in a cave near the shore of the Dead Sea in Israel. The rare cache of weapons was ...

The ancient weapons were secreted behind a wall of ... written on a stalactite when they spotted the iron point of a pilum—a Roman javelin—wedged among the rocks, as well as pieces of worked ...

A fascinating discovery in the Judean Desert: archaeologists unearthed a cache of well-preserved Roman weapons, including four swords and a shafted pilum weapon, believed to be around 1,900-years-old.