Round vs Oval

[Robert Vermaat]

I'll be making another shield this winter, my best yet (hopefully) and it will be based on the Dura finds. Why? Because that's where the good evidence is. I'm not going to frolic about in the enjoyable games of oval vs. round and dished vs. flat, when these arguments are based on vastly differing pictorial references which often seem to contradict each other.
So I'm sticking with a Roman shield-making tradition that is perfectly and exhaustively attested: Dura.

Dura is not as sim ple as it looks. The shields themselves are gone (aren't they?) and offer no possibility to check the records. Shield boss studies however suggest more tangable evidence.

Dished. Round or oval is not the issue, it's both/and.
Have fun painting.