The "Fred thread": the Argead Macedonian Army

[PMBardunias]

So, if I understand you correctly, you are postulating that the drawing of the area indicated in red, between the blank spot beside the central decoration of the shield and the edge of the shield, is accurate, but only based on the relief as it was found, and not on the way it was originally intended to be?.

I'm saying that the original strip had details, such as the bottom of the thureos, the face of many of the men, etc., that were lost to modern scholars- probably flattened. The modern artist simple illustrated what he found with fidelity- not adding what could be there. One of the things that was obscured was the very slight upper margin of that pelta.

See, this is why stringent testing is necessary

That's something of a mantra of mine at this point. But it is not a panacea. Connolly did excellent testing, but he also brought many preconceptios to the table. Blyth's work as well is marred by working within a narrow paradigm.