01-17-2006, 09:28 PM
Hi, sorry that I don't really have much more solid information to add. But in talking about this with various people over the years, the impression I got was that the wood was probably parallel slabs or timbers laid side-by-side and then hollowed out. I *think* I remember hearing that the wooden remains of the Vatican shield implied that. It would be a lot more solid than the wedge-shaped slices, I should think.
For the turning, a better idea than a pole-lathe with the shield on edge might be something more like a large potter's wheel, with the shield lying flat on a round stone slab. I even thought it might be clever to turn the outside, then fit the bronze facing to it, and THEN hollow out the inside. No basis at all for thinking that, though, since a good metalworker might not need to form the metal directly on the shield at all, just test-fit it together as the work progresses.
You could save time by doing some cross-sections at intervals corresponding to the widths of your timbers, and rough-cutting the profile on each piece ahead of time.
Mind you, there might have been more than one way to do this! Apparently the assumption that a lot of ancient shields were wicker has been shown to be based on very little, to the point where some folks are saying there's really no evidence for wicker at all. I'm not completely sold on that, thinking of a clay model of a figure-8 shield that really looks like it has a wicker pattern painted on it. But it's on the outside as well as the inside! (If I'm recalling correctly.) And that shouldn't be right. The Chigi vase is also frustrating, because it really does look like layered strips and/or pie segments.
Wish I could tell you more!
Khairete,
Matthew
For the turning, a better idea than a pole-lathe with the shield on edge might be something more like a large potter's wheel, with the shield lying flat on a round stone slab. I even thought it might be clever to turn the outside, then fit the bronze facing to it, and THEN hollow out the inside. No basis at all for thinking that, though, since a good metalworker might not need to form the metal directly on the shield at all, just test-fit it together as the work progresses.
You could save time by doing some cross-sections at intervals corresponding to the widths of your timbers, and rough-cutting the profile on each piece ahead of time.
Mind you, there might have been more than one way to do this! Apparently the assumption that a lot of ancient shields were wicker has been shown to be based on very little, to the point where some folks are saying there's really no evidence for wicker at all. I'm not completely sold on that, thinking of a clay model of a figure-8 shield that really looks like it has a wicker pattern painted on it. But it's on the outside as well as the inside! (If I'm recalling correctly.) And that shouldn't be right. The Chigi vase is also frustrating, because it really does look like layered strips and/or pie segments.
Wish I could tell you more!
Khairete,
Matthew
Matthew Amt (Quintus)
Legio XX, USA
<a class="postlink" href="http://www.larp.com/legioxx/">http://www.larp.com/legioxx/
Legio XX, USA
<a class="postlink" href="http://www.larp.com/legioxx/">http://www.larp.com/legioxx/
