soliferrum

thumb|350px|Iberian soliferreum from the Bastida de les Alcusses. Prehistory Museum of Valencia Soliferrum or Soliferreum (Latin: solus, "only" and ferrum, "iron") was the Roman name for an ancient Iberian ranged polearm made entirely of iron. The soliferrum was a heavy hand-thrown javelin, designed to be thrown to a distance of up to 30 meters. In the Iberian language it was known as saunion.

==Design== The soliferrum was forged from a single piece of iron which usually measured in length and around in diameter. This missile weapon had a narrow, barbed tip so it could pierce shields and armour. The tip of the soliferrum came in several forms. In its simplest form, it had only a sharpened tip but usually it had two small spikes or even more. These spikes had one or several hooks, so the weapon would be hard to extract after it had penetrated an enemy's body. The central part of the soliferrum was usually thickened to facilitate the grip of the weapon. Sometimes there were moldings of about long in the middle of the weapon to further improve the grip and thus prevent the weapon from slipping in sweaty or bloody hands.