carrying straps for auxiliary oval shield

[Titvs Statilivs Castvs]

looks promising, but still where to put the furca?

So some kind of double strap arrangement, maybe? Unless the pilum is tied to the shield in some way... He appears to have both hands free though, so could feasibly carry a spear or furca in either if necessary.

something like that also crossed my mind, for testing i will try to loop two seperate ropes thrugh the handle of the clipeus and wich would end in two straps like the ones on a backpack

I do this and it works very good. However, not (consciously) based on any evidence.

[Hatzi]

some pictures would be usefull

[Hatzi]

i just gave this two strap method a try

i just looped two of my viking age belts trough the handle, and it worked perfectly, no problem with the furca, no problem with the neck guard of the helmet, all i will have to do is that i fasten tje straps a bit further apart so the shielt stays stable and cant rotate

i'll see that i get my hands on some leater soon, so i can get this going

thanks for your advice guys, i'll post pics when i got it done

[M. Demetrius]

ON my Late Roman shield, which is basically an oval, I drilled a hole on either side of the handle, and put a ring in each Attached a strap there with a hook on either end, so it can be taken off reasonably quickly. Works fine.

[Hatzi]

ok, an other issue has come up: it seems i cant get any leather, well at least not that straps i would need, in the next time...

but i have some leftover rope, would this also be apropriate?

[M. Demetrius]

If there are second hand, or used clothing stores in your area, a couple of leather belts should do the trick.

I don't see why rope wouldn't work, especially while trying out lengths, attachment methods, etc. Rope over armor is fine; rope over just a tunic is not so great.

[Crispvs]

I would caution against the 'backpack' method. This is not because of any reason of practicality or comfort, but because that is not where the evidence points to. All depictions I know of of soldiers carrying their shields in a slung position show the shield behind or curving around the soldier's left shoulder. Aside from the possibly unreliable evidence of Trajan's Column, there are depictions of soldiers carrying shields over the left shoulder on one of the Mainz column bases, a relief of Praetorians originally from a Flavian triumphal arch at Putioli and the stele of P. Flavoleius Cordus of Legio XIIII (I think this is the one you were thinking of Paul). Both Cordus and the Putioli Praetorian are clearly shown holding a strap which passes over the left shoulder. By contrast, there are no depictions of soldiers carrying their shields on their backs. Thus the evidence says: left shoulder - four votes; backpack position - nil point.

I have carried my shield on a strap over my left shoulder (along with an additional strap which passed around the body), and found it very stable. It did not interfere with my impedimenta (furca with mattock, tool bag, folded cloak, bucket, patera and grain bag) either.

When we marched Hadrian's Wall a few years ago, Peronis attached a single strap to his clipeius which was rivetted on a couple of inches in from either end. He reported that this worked very well over the left shoulder and was quite comfortable. Therefore, that might be something you could try which is unable to be proven but does not conflict with the representational evidence.

Crispvs

[Hatzi]

i just tried it your way....

DAYUM! it fits like a glove and wears good

thx for the great input