Scuta

[Matt Lukes]

Thanks Matt, I know that the term accurate does not apply really that is why I put it in quotes since I was not sure exactly what word to use to describe what I was trying to convey.

Yes, Matt I meant some shaped raised skin.

Paolo

Right, of course, sorry I just wouldn't have even used it in quotes but rather have asked if there's anything that's more 'reasonable' than something else, since it's all completely theoretical.

And as for the raised rawhide, I seem to recall someone discussing that not too long ago, but without the tiniest bit of real evidence (that I know of), I'd consider that more fantasy than even theoretical at this point. I don't even agree that there's sufficient evidence to believe rawhide was used on scuta regularly (don't kill me Christian! :wink: ) given that the majority of the Dura Europos and the Kasr El Harit shields had some kind of fiber in glue facing rather than animal skin.

just a couple of artifacts that I don't believe can actually be proven conclusively to have come from scuta

Why? Or better, where else do you suggest they might be from?

Well first there's no scale in any of the photos I've ever seen of them so unless anyone has the artifacts' dimensions, they might be too big or too small to reaonably have belonged to scuta, then there's the fact that both figures are EXTREMELY common so there are a hundred other things they might have been part of, and third unless they were found with clear scutum elements such as an umbo, edge binding, they might just as well belong to one of those hundred other possibilities, some of which, such as wooden chests, we know to have had applique decorated metal pieces- that's something we don't know for sure about scuta.

What about the Doncaster scutum. According to Michel Feguere (in his book) the picture seems to suggest a rectangular legionary scutum with a round umbo.

I've always seen it depicted as being very ovoid and to me its style has never looked remotely Roman- I've wondered for a while just why it's though to be actually. Couldn't it just as easily (or moreso) be a non-Roman Auxiliary (and thus some other peoples' design) or even British?