03-01-2008, 06:19 AM
Sure a pelte can have an 80cm diameter. That's what a couple of finds do have. The smallest known finds are around 60cm, the majority are clustered either around 66cm or 74cm, and a couple are in the upper 70's, and as high as 80cm. I agree though, the guy with an 80cm pelte would be a large man...all the more reason for the shield to be either that of a Thracian warrior prince, who may well have been a large man, or the trophy of said Thracian, taken from a large Macedonian man in some small or large war.
But then again, I don't usually think of a Macedonian shield as having an umbo, so perhaps its something else entirely.
EDIT: I checked the finds in Hatzopoulos, and while I remembered an upper range he gave as a little over .8m, I don't see it, so I think I misremembered. The largest ones he describes (aside from guesstimating shield sizes on Agios Athanasios) are .75-.76m. But increasing the radius by 2cm isn't that much of an increase--a large guy, not necessarily a giant. (And I really feel like I'd read somewhere of shields around the 80cm range...if anyone knows, help me out so I don't feel like I'm going senile).
But then again, I don't usually think of a Macedonian shield as having an umbo, so perhaps its something else entirely.
EDIT: I checked the finds in Hatzopoulos, and while I remembered an upper range he gave as a little over .8m, I don't see it, so I think I misremembered. The largest ones he describes (aside from guesstimating shield sizes on Agios Athanasios) are .75-.76m. But increasing the radius by 2cm isn't that much of an increase--a large guy, not necessarily a giant. (And I really feel like I'd read somewhere of shields around the 80cm range...if anyone knows, help me out so I don't feel like I'm going senile).
Paul
USA
USA
