When in Rome 8: Arm Yourself
***** The cache is not at the posted coordinates. *****
Rome, for all its glory, was never a truly peaceful civilization. From the risks individuals may face from petty criminals in cities, to brigands along the roads, Romans faced real danger without the assistance of the vigiles and cohorts urbane in the larger cities. Crime was especially rampant in the late Republic era. Wealthy citizens felt compelled to maintain their own military or police forces. In fact, fire brigades were also privately owned and would be used as threats against rivals. It’s a nice shop you have here, we wouldn’t want anything to happen to it…
On a larger scale, Rome was a civilization built out of strife: constant expansion through wars; fights against “barbarians” outside the Empire; slave revolts that needed to be put down.
Throughout Roman history and through all their wars, the main weapons of choice for the Roman army remained relatively the same: sword (gladius), javelin (pilum), and dagger (pugio). Romans were known for their ability to fight in formation. Close ranks of soldiers would cover themselves with shields and use the high-quality steel gladius to stab opponents. If a gladius was lost or broken, then it was time for the pugio. 
What often goes underreported in modern recounting is the impact the pila would have on combat. A pila was a thrown weapon lighter than a spear. The average soldier would carry one, throw it before charging to get into close combat with the opponent and then let the gladius finish the combat. Unlike modern javelins used in athletic competitions, the Roman pila came in distinct parts: the grip and shaft to allow it to be thrown accurately and the head. The head was designed to penetrate shields and armor of opponents. Deviously, the shaft would break off upon impact so it could not be thrown back at the Romans. A shaft stuck in an opponent’s shield would make is unusable. A shaft stuck into an opponent…
Also, unlike modern javelins, the pila often would have a bit of cord or leather with a loop wrapped around the shaft. The thrower’s fingers would slide into this loop to help add spin to the pila in flight. This was called the amentum. Much like an atlatl aids in throwing a spear, adding the amentum to a javelin can double the distance it can be thrown!
When the original Olympic Games were held, pilum throwing was an important competition. To keep soldiers in condition to throw their military pila, a sporting version of the pilum was produced and designed to be reusable, without a breakaway tip. Recent road work in Rome has uncovered a trove of information about a famous Roman pilum thrower: Janius Noonanicus. It seems that Janius was able to throw a competition javelin as far (or farther) than most modern javelin throwers!
Delving into the information found at the posted coordinates, we can study the techniques used by Janius as he trained for competitions. He stressed the importance of the correct angle for the javelin to be thrown, the speed at which he approached the throw, and the height at which he released the javelin.
Like modern throwers, Janius attempted to throw his javelin at a 40º degree angle to achieve optimal height and therefore maximum distance. Even as a youth, he was capable of consistently using this as his launch angle when he threw his javelin.
Our first recorded throw found in the documentation was when Janius was still a youth. While we do not know how tall he was at this time, it was recorded that the javelin left his hand at a height of 3.5 feet (converted to modern units for the ease of you, the reader). Think about how tall he must have been to have that be the height of his upstretched hand! He was truly a child prodigy! We also know he approached the throwing line at a speed of 20.696 m/s (modern units again).
It seems that although Janius was a giant in the javelin world, he was not a giant among men. While Roman soldiers were typically 5.5 feet tall (based upon skeletal remains), the release height recorded for adult Janius’ best throw was only 5.5 feet. Through the years, he may not have added to his height much, but he added to his approach speed. He was moving at 29.585 m/s for his ancient Roman record throw, faster than all but the most gifted throwers today!
What we are missing from the information is without doubt the most important: how many meters could he throw the javelin?
CO Note: I have been in contact with people that have the correct solutions but can't get a YOO HOO from Certitude. The checking and double checking prior to publication seemed to verify that simply typing your answers with a N and W in front of them would work. It worked for me on multiple attempts. It is not working for others and I do not know why. The answers seem to be needed to be modified to fit what Certitude wants. If you have 12.34 and 56.78 for answers, they want N12 34.000 and W 56 78.000 to get the special message. Sorry for the confusion! As I tell my students, don't be afraid to ask for help!
You can validate your puzzle solution with
certitude.