Before the 1930s excavation at Dura-Europos, the classic semi-cylindrical scutum was known only from literary sources such as Polybius and from relief sculpture like Trajan’s Column, since no physical example had survived. The shield recovered from Dura-Europos, a Roman frontier garrison on the Euphrates destroyed by the Sassanids in 256 AD, changed that: built from three layers of glued wooden strips totalling just 4.5 to 6mm thick, covered in painted fabric and hide, it remains the sole surviving confirmation of a shield type previously known only from depiction. Its decoration — an eagle beneath a laurel wreath, winged Victories, and a lion, in the same vivid palette as Roman wall paintings from Pompeii — offers a genuine window into military art of the period. This reproduction recreates that landmark find.
Dura-Europos Legionary Scutum, Museum Pattern
Scutum is the Latin word for shield, though in modern usage it has come to specifically mean the rectangular, semi-cylindrical body shield carried by Roman legionaries. This reproduction is modelled on the Dura-Europos scutum, the only surviving example of this classic semi-cylindrical form, excavated from a Syrian frontier city destroyed in 256 AD and now held at the Yale University Art Gallery. The original was built from three layers of thin wooden strips covered in painted fabric and hide, decorated with an eagle and laurel wreath, winged Victories, and a lion — decoration this reproduction recreates.
- Material: Wood, painted fabric and hide covering
- Decoration: Eagle, laurel wreath, winged Victories, lion (Dura-Europos pattern)
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