SCUTUM, building and testing, some thoughts

[Matthew Amt]

I can see trees grown specifically for use in making scutums. Growing wood for specific purposes is something that's been done throughout history. Why not something as important as a military item?

hock: Evidence? Is there even a hint of this written, described, etc. anywhere?

Well, I've read that coppiced ash groves were commonly maintained and harvested for spear and javelin shafts, but like so much else in my brain I can't quote a source for that!

While I agree that the ancients had good ideas about the best materials to use, I don't think they always busted themselves to find them. We can't be sure that only old growth trees were used for shields, for instance. I don't even think we've proven that shields were faced with rawhide rather than leather, though I'm certainly happy with either one. It just seems like a little bit of a stretch to me to be constantly pushing for the absolute strongest and toughest shield--I have a feeling that all too many of the real ones were simply "good enough". Concentrate on getting pretty much the right wood and making it the right thickness, and yeah, I think tests on a shield like that will be much more instructive than whacking anything made of modern plywood.

Keep at it!

Matthew