making an aspis

[Giannis K. Hoplite]

Hi Eric.
No, the vatican shield has about 30-40% of the wood surviving, and part of if also covered by leather on the inside. The bronze is almost 100% intact, with just a little hole about 5x5 cm. This is how we know of the different thickness of the wooden core on different parts of the shield.
I have seen it up close and i have posted many photos here in RAT in a separate thread. Craig of MI has also seen the shield up close in his recent trip to Europe this October.
But the Vatican shield is not the only one with parts of the wood surviving. There is a number of shields, and some of them have been posted here on RAT. Not all are the same as the vaticam and on of them seems to have been constructed with thin strips of wood perhaps laminated. I have not seen it though.
Finally, there are a number of other finds from Macedonia where the linen and stucco/gesso cover of the shield has survived, as well some small pieces of wood, and even bronze links that used to hold the planks together. The vatican shield doesn't have such links, nor wooden nails holding the planks together,but this might be explained by the fact that it had a full bronze cover, whereas the Macedonian shields didn't,and thus need additional stuctural strenght!
So we have indeed more than just representations and bronze covers in our disposal if we want to reconstruct a shield, but all the evidence points to different construction tecniques at different periods.
Khaire
Giannis