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Scutum construction for Beginners
#1
Salve all,
Being new to the reenacting aspect of Ancient Rome, I have dug deep through the reenacting forum on construction for the Scuta. While there's bits and pieces all around I think it would be helpful for those of us new to the hobby to have a resource for all Scutum construction techniques and practices. I will post what has been told to me and hopefully we can take it from there, with pictures of molds, construction of molds, what woods to use (from a beginner's "beater" scutum to a painstakingly accurate one built of strips), bosses to use, How to make them, painting the scutum, covering, and edging.

To get things started, I thought I'd post something Matt L. replied to me last week sometime, regarding dimensions on a republican Scuta:

Quote:Salve Caste,

Well the Kasr al-Harit shield (also referred to as the Fayum shield) is dated I believe to the 3rd century BC (the reference I have states the site was where Celtic mercenaries were given land at that time) and although it may not be Roman, it's of the style that the Republican scutum is supposed to have been. It's made of three layers of birch strips, measures 1.28x0.64m and is 1.25cm thick in the middle and 0.95cm at the edges. It also has remnants of glue-soaked felt on its surfaces. I belive Polybios' description of the Republican scutum says it's about 1.25mx0.75m. He doesn't mention the type of wood and gets it wrong by saying there are only two layers of strips, so he's not the most reliable source :wink: It's likely that many kinds of wood were used- the Dura shield fragments are of several species, planewood comes to mind as one of them.

EDIT: For us yanks, those dimensions translate to 4.2' tall, 2.1' wide, and .37" at the edges. It's a start!
"Marcus Hortensius Castus"
or, to those interested,
"Kyle Horton"

formerly Horton III
Reply
#2
A post by Sulla Felix with pictures:

http://www.romanarmy.com/rat/viewtopic. ... ght=scutum

More on Pressing and molding:

http://www.romanarmy.com/rat/viewtopic. ... ght=scutum
"Marcus Hortensius Castus"
or, to those interested,
"Kyle Horton"

formerly Horton III
Reply


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