11-20-2006, 06:18 PM
Interesting- if Dio was writing in the late 2nd century/ early 3rd century AD, the plywood scutum and clipeus were still in use. But had plank shields shown-up yet? He might have been writing about the civil war, but his metaphor, I think, would have been more likely contemporary so readers would understand better- unless he mentions the ox-hide covering of a round shield at an earlier point and is just referring to that.
I still go back to the Dura finds- there's only one with any kind of rawhide on it (yes?) and that has the skin on both sides, not just the front, and it's parchment thin- which I can't see adding a whole lot of strength. I actually wonder if the parchment is simply there as a painting surface...
I still go back to the Dura finds- there's only one with any kind of rawhide on it (yes?) and that has the skin on both sides, not just the front, and it's parchment thin- which I can't see adding a whole lot of strength. I actually wonder if the parchment is simply there as a painting surface...
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