Does anyone know of any evidence that Roman citizen cavalry or centurions of the Late Republic era still carried the old styled clipeus/aspis shield? I've seen a few illustrations of them in various copies of Ancient Warfare Magazine and Osprey books, wondering how accurate they are.
Round shields do turn up on some Republican coins, although it is unclear how many citizen cavalry served after 100 BC. The "officer" on the so-called Altar of Domitius Ahenobarbus, who may the the god Mars, carries a round shield, which may suggest it was associated with "ceremonial" armor that the figure wears.
Off the top of my head, I cannot think of any evidence that centurions carried a round shield, although the earliest visual representations, on Late Republican tombstones, show them with only sword and vine stick.
Interesting. Have you seen any other evidence for the old clipeus shields (not parma/parmula style) still in use by the Late Republic, like in the pictures I posted?
Not that I can think of off the top of my head. Indeed, was is surprising is how often cavalrymen are depicted without shields (e.g. the Pydna and Ahenobarbus monuments) as well as many imperial tombstones. This may simply be artistic style that diverges from historic reality, or it may reflect that many cavalrymen still preferred to fight shieldless, which would make them more maneuverable if much less protected.
As for the centurions, again Graham Sumner may be drawing on a bit I haven't seen--or it may be a hypothetical depiction.
The Lacus Curtius relief depicts what may be an old style clipeus. However, I'm not sure about the dating. One (http://dlib.etc.ucla.edu/projects/Forum/...us_Curtius) source indicates that it is early imperial reproduction of a late republican design, but I'm not clear on the basis for that guess. Even if that's true, it's hard to say if it was still in use, as roman artists often depicted Hellenistic gear, despite it's obsolescence.
Michael J. Taylor posted the pictures of the unknown coin and the altar of Domitius Ahenobarbus. Gaius Varro posted the Lacus Curtius relief. I must say I disagree with the interpretation of those pictures stated earlier by these gentlemen.
The "officer", which also can be the god Mars, in the Altar of D. Ahenobarbus does seem to carry a round (or oval) shield, but it does not seem to be convex in any way. It looks perfectly flat. It has some kind of rim around it, but nothing else can be seen from it, not the grip or anything. I've seen a high resolution photograph of the relief, and I would not call that a clipeus/aspis shield. The quality of the sculpture is very good, made by skilled sculptor(s), and there's also two legionaries with their scuta visible. The second scutum at least is clearly curved, so it cannot be argued that the sculptor just didn't know how to sculpt convex or curved shields on perspective.
Angus McBride has illustrated this very same officer, and also he seemed to think the shield as flat. I have included a picture collection where I have put the original pictures next to illustrations which better show, in my mind, what the reliefs are depicting.
The unknown coin depicts a cavalryman with a round shield, but that would be parma, not a clipeus/aspis either. It shows a central spine (spina) on the flat surfice of the shield. This is a Greek cavalry shield, which the Romans copied for their own use.
The Lacus Curtius relief shows another kind of cavalry shield, called popanum. It's also round, a little bit raised at the middle, then going down a bit forming a circle (boss?) in which there's possibly a gorgoneion emblem. It's in no way a convex clipeus/aspis shield either, overall it's quite flat. It's traditionally made of oxhide, and got later replaced by the sturdier wooden Greek style parma.
Angus McBride's illustration shows both of these shield types used by republican cavalry.
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But there is at least one pictographical piece of evidence for the clipeus/aspis style round convex shield used by Romans at the end of the Republic. It's the relief in Campidoglio monument, erected by Sulla. It clearly shows a clipeus/aspis shield surmounted by two armours and helmets of centurions. Possibly centurions, since they have kind of transverse crests. Is the shield also for a centurion, that cannot be said, but it's not impossible.
