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+--- Thread: Shield of Skudra (/showthread.php?tid=31226)
Shield of Skudra - Vladimír Dlhý - 01-08-2020
Achaemenid reliefs from Apadana in Persepolis depict delegates from Skudra satrapy - Thracians. They bear unusual shields different from pelta shields or any other we traditionally associate with Thracians. Shields are shown from profile. We can clearly see vertical rows reminding spiral construction of kalkan or chinese rattan shields. There are also some shields made by reenactors from straw instead of wicker, but with same structure. I don't know any other depiction of this type of shield from ancient times.
Could the ancient Thracians use this type of shield already in the antiquity, predating the medieval asian wicker shields?
![[Image: TCvs2e6.jpg]](https://i.imgur.com/TCvs2e6.jpg)
![[Image: iEziDo5.png]](https://i.imgur.com/iEziDo5.png)
![[Image: u8D3FeY.jpg]](https://i.imgur.com/u8D3FeY.jpg)
![[Image: SZOv933.jpg]](https://i.imgur.com/SZOv933.jpg)
RE: Shield of Skudra - Robert Vermaat - 01-09-2020
Interesting!
RE: Shield of Skudra - Dan Howard - 01-09-2020
It is certainly a possibility and the reconstruction looks very cool. Do we have any illustrations depicting these shields at any other angle?
RE: Shield of Skudra - Vladimír Dlhý - 01-09-2020
Dan Howard Wrote:It is certainly a possibility and the reconstruction looks very cool. Do we have any illustrations depicting these shields at any other angle?
As far as I know, this is the only depiction of those shields. Here is the picture of whole scene.
![[Image: 4WEb5zp.png]](https://i.imgur.com/4WEb5zp.png)
RE: Shield of Skudra - Sean Manning - 01-15-2020
Basketwork shields were popular in the Ottoman Empire too. Greek gerron is literally a wicker object like a booth in the agora. And don't forget Vegetius de Re Militari 1.11!
RE: Shield of Skudra - Sean Manning - 01-28-2020
Also, some of the Neo-Assyrian reliefs show round shields in the form of a very flat cone. Maybe Sennacherib and Assurbanipal? Their shields look smooth from the outside but could be covered with hide or bronze, the insides usually have patterns on them.
There is a lot of room for projects reconstructing real wooden shields and wicker shields. They found a woven bark shield in Leicestershire! https://www.independent.co.uk/news/science/archaeology/celtic-shield-leicestershire-archaeologist-ancient-warfare-a8927871.html