plumbata

thumb|Four heads from the 4th or 5th century AD, found in Enns (town)|Enns, Austria. The wooden shafts and [[fletching have decayed.]]

' or ' were lead-weighted throwing darts carried by infantrymen in Antiquity and the Middle Ages. They were used to inflict damage on enemies at a distance before engaging in close combat. Roman soldiers in some legions carried inside their shields, which allowed them to have ranged weapons similar to arrows, according to Vegetius in his 4th-century military treatise .