RomanArmyTalk

I have not find a clear desdcription of Dura Europos Scutum layers. Wood, leather and fibre are present. Can any one give some more info. Thanks

See:

http://www.oxbowbooks.com/oxbow/the-exca...t-vii.html

complete details of all the shields found at Dura and still very cheap get it while you can ;-)

Might want to ask Mods to move this topic to the appropriate area.

The description of the Book Is a little messy. I will like To know If the painted layer Is linen
I suspect linen Is over the leather surface...Because Is complicate to paint leather.

So don't use paint. Stop looking at sculptures, look at real examples of armour and shields, and use the same methods and techniques. Italian leather armour and shields were often decorated with gesso. Asian leather armour and shields were decorated with lacquer.

Quote:See:

http://www.oxbowbooks.com/oxbow/the-exca...t-vii.html

complete details of all the shields found at Dura and still very cheap get it while you can ;-)

Damn. I paid almost two hundred bucks for my copy.

And how they fix the leather to the wood....
quilting?

Quote:And how they fix the leather to the wood....
quilting?

It was glued on. And when not actively in use, the shield was protected by a leather cover to prevent it from falling apart from moisture, as proven by archaeological finds of shield covers and reports of Roman soldiers having to pull off shield covers in ambushes.

They have a layer of linen too?

I just thought of something what are the dimension of these shield covers? Even if they are in pieces that should gives us a general idea how big the shields were...

Quote:

Crispianus post=360892 Wrote:See:

http://www.oxbowbooks.com/oxbow/the-exca...t-vii.html

complete details of all the shields found at Dura and still very cheap get it while you can ;-)

Damn. I paid almost two hundred bucks for my copy.

I paid the full price too and then discovered the special offer at oxbow.... C'est la vie, still it was worth every penny, frankly I'm surprised they haven't all been snapped up yet.... its worth a tenner just for the shields ;-)

Mike,

Most surviving fragments of shield covers are too small to tell us much. There are only a handful, mainly from Valkenburg, which survive more or less complete and so could possibly indicate original shield sizes. However, leather generally shrinks with time and it is never entirely possible to know how much a leather item will have shrunk prior to excavation and conservation. A slightly better indicator of shield sizes are surviving pieces of shield edging, a few of which are reasonably long.

Incidentally, I agree with Bryan. This thread should be in the History and Archaeology forum - it concerns neither a rule nor an announcement, after all. Perhaps a moderator might move it to the correct place.

Crispvs

The Dura shields were painted in encaustic. Probably no leather involved there, but rather rawhide facing. The encaustic paint was rather applied onto a layer of white stuff than gesso, which overlaid the rawhide (which was rather a parchment in regard of its thickness). The Masada shield fragments were made in a similar way, although heavy fabric (linen?) was applied under the parchment / onto the wood (also on the inside in some cases IIRC). The shields from the Trier collection are also rawhide / white stuff / encaustic IIRC.

The book mentions three methods being used Tempura, Encaustic and Milk paint

Tempura? You sure?

(tempera=> yes you are right, but is S. James sure? I haven´t checked the book again.... no time.... ;-) )