The iron head had a narrow sharp tip, which made the falarica an excellent armour-piercing weapon.
The Iberians used to bind combustible material to the metal shaft of the weapon and use the falarica as an incendiary projectile.
The falarica could also be launched by the use of spear throwers or siege engines to increase its range and velocity.
the besieged were protected and the enemy kept away from the gates by the falarica, which many arms at once were wont to poise... when hurled like a thunderbolt from the topmost walls of the citadel, it clove the furrowed air with a flickering flame, even as a fiery meteor speeding from heaven to earth dazzles men's eyes with its blood red tail... and when in flight it struck the side of a huge tower, it kindled a fire which burnt until all of the woodwork of the tower was utterly consumed.
Although in some texts the term falarica is used as a poetic description for a Roman weapon, its origin seems to be from the Western Mediterranean and in most respects it was similar to the pre-Marian pilum.