My take on the Junkelmann Scutum harness

[Neuraleanus]

I just finished this, take a look:

http://66.66.131.145/roman/scutum.html

My thanks to Florentius for his detailed explanations. I haven't yet tryed this while wearing my seg, hopefully this weekend I'll be able to head down to the canal for a walk, but the harness appears to keep my scutum away from my left leg and permit me to walk freely. Before while using just a shoulder strap I had to grab the edge of the scutum to prevent my left leg from banging into the shield.

[Neuraleanus]

I reversed the torso strap. The small torso strap is much easier to buckle with the buckle located on the left hand side.

[Carlton Bach]

Looks good. I especially like the leather cover - have to get myself one of those....

Do you take off the carrying harness for combat?

[Neuraleanus]

The harness is permantly attached. When in parade the shoulder strap conviently takes the load off my left hand. When I built the sctum I attached straps of brass for a pair of rings using the boss rivets.

The scutum cover is made from goat skin. The only place that I could obtain vegetable tanned goat leather was Le Prevo in the UK:

[email protected]

[Neuraleanus]

This morning I finally got a chance to try out the new scutum harness while wearing full kit. The conclusion is that hanging the scutum off of my left shoulder just does not work. My left leg still hit the shield. The inclusion of the torso strap alone isn't enough of a change. I need to relocate the shoulder strap so that the scutum hangs about my back, like shown in Junkelmann's book. On the bright side, my wife snapped a few pictures of me wearing my Coolus helmet with the horsehair crest.

Also, here's an unrelated problem. I'm currently carrying my kit bundle off of my dolabra as shown by Fuentes (JRMES Vol. 2). Twice the bundle slipped off of my shoulder. I wear a segmentata.

[Florentius]

Ave Neuroleanus,
First I'd like to complement your beautiful scutum cover, it's really top notch looking. I love the fact that you go to the trouble of getting goatskin as well. As is pointed by C. van Driel-Murray, goatskin is lighter as well.

I'm interested in your permanent attachment technique for the carry strap, as the most trouble I haveis with the straps sliding on the handle, also, the wider attachment would be more stable. I wear the shield almost completely pushed around to my back, and fairly high, so the bottom edge is at or above my knee. I also use the furca bags as a steadying element for the scuta, and when I'm really walking the cross bar of the furca tends to settle done and rest on the top edge of the scuta. This sort of ties them together, and the result is that I don't really need to hold the furca, more just rest my arm over it, and it very rarely slips off the shoulder.

I look forward to hearing more about your experiments.
Vale, Florentius

[Neuraleanus]

I wanted to use the rings since they were already there for a shoulder strap. The problem with the wide separation between the shoulder straps is that I could not get the scutum to hang about my back. I've concluded that for a single shoulder strap to work the strap has to go around the handle. I'm now in the process of rebuilding the harness to something that is closer to what you have done. If I succeed in getting the scutum to hang about my back this may also solve the problem of my kit bundle slipping off of my shoulder.

[Neuraleanus]

I think that I got it this time:



I added a third buckle and I now wrap the harness around the handle, just like Junkelmann did. The harness also appears to work best by looping the torso strap over the right should rather than under. I need to test again while wearing full armour.

Also, another question: what's a good way to tie my rolled paenula to a furca, or a dolabra, for that's what I'm currently carrying?

[Crispvs]

Neuraleanus,

I also took my inspiration from Florentius' harness. However, for me a primary goal was to have the ability to quickly release the shield from the harness so as to be able to react quickly in the event of a sudden attack whilst on the mrch and yet not lose the ability to move the shield freely. To this end I replaced the two hooks Florentius had used on his with two straps which passed around the handle and buckled back on themselves. These were designed to be able to be quickly and easily undone. In the event I found that the strap ends were not long enough to be gripped easily but when I rebuild the harnes I will be lengthening these somewhat. I did find however that I avoided problem Florentius has mentioned of the straps sliding along the handle. Mine did not move at all.
I attached the shoulder buckle to the front section of the main shoulder strap as Florentius had and although this worked well to begin with, after prolonged periods of marching over rough ground I would find that the buckle had worked its way under my left shoulder plates and made the harness far less well balanced. When I rebuild the harness I will transfer the buckle to the rear section of the main strap as I note you have done.
Overall though, I found that the harness design was a very stable one which also allowed the shield to be rachetted up to hang in a position where it does not scrape the backs of the legs.
If you look at our site at www.romanarmy.net and look at the photos from Hadrain's Wall you can see the position my shield is held in when rigged to the harness in the photo entitled 'Gladiators?'.

Crispvs

[Neuraleanus]

That's quite a hike. One of these days I hope to be able to do something similar. You're right, the trick to carrying the scutum seems to be to get it on your back as high as you can get it.

[Neuraleanus]

Compared to the simple shoulder strap, the difference is like night and day. I just got back from a short hike along the Erie Canal in full armour. Balancing my stachel hanging from the dolabra over the back of the scutum also helped. The only issue was when someone asked to see my gladius, I went to draw it, and I forgot about the torso strap drawn over my right shoulder. The buckle popped and I bent the pin. A little effort at straightening the pin soon put the harness back into service.

Now I need to tend to my aching left shoulder.

[Crispvs]

I made my torso strap to go around the torso itself rather than around the shoulder as I had noticed that the arrangement Junkelmann had used would not be particularly compatable with the shoulder guards on my segmentata. Thus I ended up with a four part harness arranged in the following way: A main strap over the left shoulder consisting of a back strap and a front strap, connected with a buckle, each strap ending in a strap and buckle arrangement which passes around the shield handle and buckles back on itself; a torso strap, also consisting of front and back straps connected with a buckle, attached to the rear strap of the main strap at waist height and to the forward strap of the main strap at chest height. The torso strap is passed around the torso under the right arm. This arrangement proved very stable and subject to the modifications I mentioned in my last post I am not sure I could improve on it. Initially I actually sewed loops in the ends of the torso straps and passed the main strap through these and allowed trial and error to dictate the best positions for the points of connection with the main strap. The waist and chest positions stood out as the best positions. Interestingly, when I got home after the Hadrian's Wall march I had a look at a photograph of the Mainz column base showing the two marching soldiers, one of whom is carrying a slung shield. This soldier has what could be a strap passing across his chest in what appears to be the same position as my torso strap passes across my chest when it is connected to the main strap at chest height.

Crispvs

[Florentius]

Ave,

I think I've followed your suggestions on my updated harness pics, http://www.florentius.com/scutumcarriage.htm (scroll down a bit, the new stuff is dark brown) though I haven't replaced all the pics, and havne't had chance to give it a good long test run. I'd love to see some pictures of your updated harness, for, though the Wall walk pictures are very cool, it's hard to pick out the details.

I am also intrigued by the "wrap around the handle" technique you are using Neuraleanus. I may try that as well.

[Neuraleanus]

I tryed passing the torso strap under the right arm, but I do not seem to get as much leverage to pull the scutum across my back as I do by passing the torso strap over my right arm. I looped the torso strap just under my shoulder guard plates. Maybe it has something to do with where I attached the torso strap rings onto the main shoulder strap. That was a guess.

[Crispvs]

I am not sure that the shield needs to be pulled around onto the back. Mine hangs around my left shoulder, which is also where the shield seems to hang on the Mainz column base image. This might seem unbalanced but it really is no trouble. Also, the straps which go around the handle are simply the two ends of the main strap. Florentius, I wonder if the movement you have been encountering is occuring in the rings and being passed down the straps from there.

Crispvs