when were the Danum shields used??

[Peroni]

Now, this is pure speculation, but it was something that Mike said that sparked this idea off....

Mike wrote..

the interpretation of the shield board remains as having a vertically orientated handgrip is, at best, open to question (it was found at 35 degrees – or should that be 55 degrees? – to the vertical).

OK, What IF that's where the grip bar was actually positioned on the board?? (It would mirror the decoration on the face)

So, I tried this with a vertical grip cavalry shield I have in the garage!

Positioning the grip at this angle would be PERFECT for a cavalryman to hold reins and keep his shield vertical at all times!

[Caballo]

Laudes- never thought of that!

[Quintus Julius Furius]

Is it so credible ?

Excuse my english !

I think that the handgrip was verticale, to take somme javelins ...

But this supposition is very interessant !

But there are some shields like this one in German/ celtic population .....

With the handgrip verticale......

This schied was for an auxilairy infantry or Cavalery....????

For the infantery : it's a light shield for "artilleurs", to attack ennemi and going to protect legions ..."It is not very good for the contact..."

[Quintus Julius Furius]

The Cohors Prima Aquitanorum

[Quintus Julius Furius]

[Peroni]

The auxiliaries attached to Legio VIII AVG in the UK use this shield too. They have added the ‘nail’ decoration to the face as seen on the original.

[Quintus Julius Furius]

Thanks ! Peroni !

I known "Vicus" but not there...

Site internet ??????

[caiusbeerquitius]

[quote]Buckland stated The shield was “flat and rectangular with rounded ends, being 1.25 metres long by 0.64 metres wide, the shallow segmental boss lying 0.65 above the base of the board.â€

[Peroni]

I know of a lot of 5th 6th and 7th century shield grip bars that were found flat, but originally were attached to dished shields.

This is firmly dated to late first century.

Did anyone make the effort to look at the lower rim of the shield boss, which can quickly answer whether the shield was flat or dished, by the way... ?

Good thinking Christian!

The flange of the boss is FLAT. Which adds weight to the doubt that the shield was curved or dished at all.

[Peroni]

Thanks ! Peroni !

I known "Vicus" but not there... Site internet ??????

http://www.roman.org.uk/ :wink:

[Nerva]

Oi! Peroni...

You took those images off our site...

www.romansireland.ie

[Matt Lukes]

I know of a lot of 5th 6th and 7th century shield grip bars that were found flat, but originally were attached to dished shields.

This is firmly dated to late first century.

Did anyone make the effort to look at the lower rim of the shield boss, which can quickly answer whether the shield was flat or dished, by the way... ?

Good thinking Christian!

The flange of the boss is FLAT. Which adds weight to the doubt that the shield was curved or dished at all.

Well in the diagram it's flat- diagrams are not always perfect however- they're what the artist who made them sees and consciously or sub-consicously feels is important to include; one might be able to argue that looking down the face of a well-curved scutum, the curve, for the short distance covered by the very small flange on this boss, is quite gentle, so might have been mistaken for being rather more flat since the artifact itself wasn't actually cut in half to obtain that cross-section. The explanation that ground pressure could have flattened the iron handgrip has another flaw however: the dished portion of the boss is intact and not squashed. Surely if the ground pressure were enough to flatten the scutum and thus the iron handgrip, would also do so to the rather thinner boss as well, yes?

[Nerva]

I have no axe to grind here Peroni but in terms of your argument, not necessarily so. Yes, I do find it hard to accept the argument over ground pressure deforming the shield and some metal parts but, the domed structure of the boss makes it an entirely different and stronger structure. Of course this argument is based on uniform pressure being applied to the shield as an entity.

While it would be difficult to 'squash' the boss, you would still expect some deformation. I think it is what it is, a flat shield.

[gauis alexandrois]

but if the shield was crushed under the pressure wouldnt there still be evedince to prove if the grip bar was flat or not.l :?:

[Nerva]

Oi, Alexandros, why aren't you answering your phone??? All I'm getting is that crazy guitar music :roll:

And by the way, I don't think the handle has been deformed an any significant way, it is now as it was then.

Peroni, I do agree with your argument about the 'flat' boss flange however...I don't know whether you've used any of Len's circular bosses. I've bent one to fit a curved scutum (B-tard of a job to get right). Anyway, I didn't use it because it couldn't get the curve right and placed it aside. I was just looking at it over lunch and the thing has almost returned to it's original flat shape. Granted it was sitting in the sun for the last couple of months so all that expansion and contraction may have something to do with it.

I think we're all just going to have to chip in and and buy a time transporter :wink: