Mykale, a naval battle?

[Sean Manning]

Ive had a look through Sekunda's Marathon book and I cant see a depiction of a handle on the Persian Spara. Just so you know, I am not saying it didn't exist.. I am just curious why it is not shown.
Ive finally found some colour photos of the Pazyryk shields.
These are 5th or 4th century BC in date and come from tombs that were rich in Iranian goods. It is interesting that the first shields decoration is Mesopotamian in Style.
Note that these to not have handles, but rawhide straps.

I can't see a handle in either image (my memory was misleading me). But definitely on the Persepolis relief, and probably on the Attic vase, the artist is showing the front and one edge of the shield. The handle (whether made out of cloth, leather, wood, or something else) is blocked from sight by something closer to the viewer.

The Assyrian siege shields with curving tops look much thicker than the Persian ones; they look like they may be made from bundles of reeds. I'm not sure if a shield of just one layer of reeds or sticks would be enough to stop arrows.