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66-451: The scutum ( Classical Latin: [ˈskuːt̪ʊ̃] ; pl. : scuta ) was a type of shield used among Italic peoples in antiquity , most notably by the army of ancient Rome starting about the fourth century BC. The Romans adopted it when they switched from the military formation of the hoplite phalanx of the Greeks to the formation with maniples ( Latin : manipuli ). In

132-466: A coat of arms. These designs developed into systematized heraldic devices during the High Middle Ages for purposes of battlefield identification. Even after the introduction of gunpowder and firearms to the battlefield, shields continued to be used by certain groups. In the 18th century, for example, Scottish Highland fighters liked to wield small shields known as targes , and as late as

198-658: A minuta equal to 1 ⁄ 60 of a day (24 modern minutes), a secunda equal to 1 ⁄ 3600 of a day (24 modern seconds), and a tertia equal to 1 ⁄ 216,000 of a day (0.4 modern seconds). A number of special symbols for Roman currency were added to the Unicode Standard version 5.1 (April 2008) as the Ancient Symbols block (U+10190–U+101CF, in the Supplementary Multilingual Plane ). As mentioned above,

264-489: A testudo put to good use by Marc Antony 's men while on campaign in Armenia: One day, when they fell into an ambush and were being struck by dense showers of arrows, [the legionaries] suddenly formed the testudo by joining their shields, and rested their left knees on the ground. The barbarians... threw aside their bows, leaped from their horses, and drawing their daggers, came up close to put an end to them. At this

330-570: A bulletproof glass viewing port. They are typically employed by specialist police, such as SWAT teams in high risk entry and siege scenarios, such as hostage rescue and breaching gang compounds, as well as in antiterrorism operations. Law enforcement shields often have a large signs stating "POLICE" (or the name of a force, such as "US MARSHALS") to indicate that the user is a law enforcement officer. Roman feet The units of measurement of ancient Rome were generally consistent and well documented. The basic unit of Roman linear measurement

396-522: A description of the early second-century scutum BC: The Roman panoply consists firstly of a shield ( scutum ), the convex surface of which measures 2.5 ft (76 cm) in width and 4 ft (120 cm) in length, the thickness at the rim being a palm's breadth. It is made of two planks glued together, the outer surface being then covered first with canvas and then with calfskin. Its upper and lower rims are strengthened by an iron edging that protects it from descending blows and from injury when rested on

462-399: A fighting style where each incoming blow is intercepted with the boss in order to deflect it. The Normans introduced the kite shield around the 10th century, which was rounded at the top and tapered at the bottom. This gave some protection to the user's legs, without adding too much to the total weight of the shield. The kite shield predominantly features enarmes , leather straps used to grip

528-607: A gentle curve in cross section. The heater style inspired the shape of the symbolic heraldic shield that is still used today. Eventually, specialised shapes were developed such as the bouche , which had a lance rest cut into the upper corner of the lance side, to help guide it in combat or tournament. Free standing shields called pavises , which were propped up on stands, were used by medieval crossbowmen who needed protection while reloading. In time, some armoured foot knights gave up shields entirely in favour of mobility and two-handed weapons. Other knights and common soldiers adopted

594-590: A given signal, raised a shout and struck their spears upon their shields, and the trumpeters blew a blast, with the result that utter panic overwhelmed the Syracusans. In 27 BC, the emperor Augustus was awarded a golden shield by the senate for his part in ending the civil war and restoring the republic, according to the Res Gestae Divi Augusti . The shield, the Res Gestae says,

660-458: A heavy cutting or piercing blow, which was experienced in the Roman campaigns against Carthage and Dacia where the falcata and falx could easily penetrate and rip through it. The effects of these weapons prompted design changes that made the scutum more resilient such as thicker planks and metal edges. The aspis , which it replaced, provided less protective coverage than the scutum but

726-543: A little more difficult. The scutum originally had an oval shape, but gradually the curved tops and sides were cut to produce the familiar rectangular shape most commonly seen in the early Imperial legions. Famously, the Romans used their shields to create a tortoise-like formation called a testudo in which entire groups of soldiers would be enclosed in an armoured box to provide protection against missiles. Many ancient shield designs featured incuts of one sort or another. This

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792-833: A number of brass measuring-rods found in the ruins of Rome, the paving-stones of the Pantheon and many other ancient Roman buildings, and the distance between the milestones on the Appian Way . He concluded that the Cossutian foot was the "true" Roman foot, and reported these values compared to the iron standard of the English foot in the Guildhall in London William Smith (1851) gives a value of 0.9708 English feet, or about 295.9 mm. An accepted modern value

858-759: A single ox hide supported by a wooden spine. This was used in combination with a short spear ( iklwa ) and/or club . Other African shields include Glagwa from Cameroon or Nguba from Congo . Shields for protection from armed attack are still used by many police forces around the world. These modern shields are usually intended for two broadly distinct purposes. The first type, riot shields , are used for riot control and can be made from metal or polymers such as polycarbonate Lexan or Makrolon or boPET Mylar . These typically offer protection from relatively large and low velocity projectiles, such as rocks and bottles, as well as blows from fists or clubs. Synthetic riot shields are normally transparent, allowing full use of

924-600: Is 296 mm. That foot is also called the pes monetalis to distinguish it from the pes Drusianus (about 333 or 335 mm) sometimes used in some provinces, particularly Germania Inferior . The Roman foot was sub-divided either like the Greek pous into 16 digiti or fingers; or into 12 unciae or inches. Frontinus writes in the 1st century AD that the digitus was used in Campania and most parts of Italy. The principal Roman units of length were: Other units include

990-636: Is depicted on the Altar of Domitius Ahenobarbus in Rome, the Aemilius Paullus monument at Delphi , and there is an actual example found at Kasr el-Harit in Egypt. Gradually the scutum evolved into the rectangular (or sub-rectangular) type of the early Roman Empire . By the end of the 3rd century the rectangular scutum seems to have disappeared. Fourth century archaeological finds (especially from

1056-421: Is the bullet-resistant ballistic shield , also called tactical shield. These shields are typically manufactured from advanced synthetics such as Kevlar and are designed to be bulletproof , or at least bullet resistant . Two types of shields are available: Tactical shields often have a firing port so that the officer holding the shield can fire a weapon while being protected by the shield, and they often have

1122-412: The aspides ( ἀσπίδες ), smaller (than the scutum) round shields used in the Greek hoplite phalanx . The hoplites were heavy infantrymen who originally wore bronze shields and helmets. The phalanx was a compact, rectangular mass military formation. The soldiers lined up in very tight ranks in a formation that was eight lines deep. The phalanx advanced in unison, which encouraged cohesion among

1188-400: The nundinae , with every eighth day being a market day. Independent of the nundinae , astrologers kept a seven-day cycle called a hebdomas where each day corresponded to one of the seven classical planets , with the first day of the week being Saturn-day , followed by Sun-day , Moon-day , Mars-day , Mercury-day , Jupiter-day , and lastly Venus-day . Each astrological day

1254-586: The Barbarian Invasions and the Middle Ages , they were normally constructed of poplar tree, lime or another split-resistant timber, covered in some instances with a material such as leather or rawhide and often reinforced with a metal boss, rim or banding. They were carried by foot soldiers, knights and cavalry. Depending on time and place, shields could be round, oval, square, rectangular, triangular, bilabial or scalloped. Sometimes they took on

1320-472: The Battle of Dyrrachium and the battle of Massilia, respectively: Scaeva, with one eye gone, his thigh and shoulder wounded, and his shield bored through [with arrows] in a hundred and twenty places, continued to guard the gate of a fortress put in his charge. Acilius in the sea-fight at Massilia grasped the stern of one of the enemy's ships, and when his right hand was lopped off, rivaling the famous exploit of

1386-575: The Bronze Age . The oldest form of shield was a protection device designed to block attacks by hand weapons, such as swords, axes and maces, or ranged weapons like sling-stones and arrows. Shields have varied greatly in construction over time and place. Sometimes shields were made of metal, but wood or animal hide construction was much more common; wicker and even turtle shells have been used. Many surviving examples of metal shields are generally felt to be ceremonial rather than practical, for example

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1452-540: The Yetholm-type shields of the Bronze Age , or the Iron Age Battersea shield . Size and weight varied greatly. Lightly armored warriors relying on speed and surprise would generally carry light shields ( pelte ) that were either small or thin. Heavy troops might be equipped with robust shields that could cover most of the body. Many had a strap called a guige that allowed them to be slung over

1518-475: The buckler , giving rise to the term " swashbuckler ". The buckler is a small round shield, typically between 8 and 16 inches (20–40 cm) in diameter. The buckler was one of very few types of shield that were usually made of metal. Small and light, the buckler was easily carried by being hung from a belt; it gave little protection from missiles and was reserved for hand-to-hand combat where it served both for protection and offence. The buckler's use began in

1584-468: The clipeus . Some ancient writers thought that the Romans had adopted the maniples and the scutum when they fought against the Samnites in the first or second Samnite War (343–341 BC, 327–304 BC). However, Livy did not mention the scutum being a Samnite shield and wrote that the oblong shield and the manipular formation were introduced in the early fourth century BC, before the conflicts between

1650-530: The porca of 180 × 30 Roman feet (about 473 m or 5,090 sq ft) used in Hispania Baetica and the Gallic candetum or cadetum of 100 feet in the city or 150 in the country. Columella also gives uncial divisions of the jugerum , tabulated by the anonymous translator of the 1745 Millar edition as follows: Both liquid and dry volume measurements were based on the sextarius. The sextarius

1716-488: The roromaraugi or qauata ). Finally, shields vary greatly in shape, ranging in roundness to angularity, proportional length and width, symmetry and edge pattern; different shapes provide more optimal protection for infantry or cavalry, enhance portability, provide secondary uses such as ship protection or as a weapon and so on. In prehistory and during the era of the earliest civilisations, shields were made of wood, animal hide, woven reeds or wicker . In classical antiquity,

1782-705: The schoenus (from the Greek for " rush rope") used for the distances in Isidore of Charax 's Parthian Stations (where it had a value around 5 km or 3 miles) and in the name of the Nubian land of Triacontaschoenus between the First and Second Cataracts on the Nile (where it had a value closer to 10.5 km or 6 + 1 ⁄ 2 miles). The ordinary units of measurement of area were: Other units of area described by Columella in his De Re Rustica include

1848-459: The scutum allowed packed formations of legionaries to overlap their shields to provide an effective barrier against projectiles. The most novel (and specialised, for it afforded negligible protection against other attacks) use was the testudo (Latin for "tortoise"), which added legionaries holding shields from above to protect against descending projectiles (such as arrows, spears, or objects thrown by defenders on walls). Dio gives an account of

1914-568: The 11th century, the Byzantines called their armoured soldiers skutatoi ( Grk . σκυτατοί), and several modern Romance languages use derivatives of the word. The scutum was a 10-kilogram (22 lb) large rectangle curved shield made from three sheets of wood glued together and covered with canvas and leather, usually with a spindle shaped boss along the vertical length of the shield. The best surviving example, from Dura-Europos in Syria,

1980-500: The 19th century, some non-industrialized peoples (such as Zulu warriors) employed them when waging wars. In the 20th and 21st century, shields have been used by military and police units that specialize in anti-terrorist actions, hostage rescue, riot control and siege-breaking. The first prototype of the shield was believed to be created in the Late Neolithic Age . However the oldest surviving shields date to sometime in

2046-426: The Greek hero Cynegirus, boarded the ship and drove the enemy before him with the boss of his shield. The Roman writer Cassius Dio in his Roman History described Roman against Roman in the Battle of Philippi : "For a long time there was pushing of shield against shield and thrusting with the sword, as they were at first cautiously looking for a chance to wound others without being wounded themselves." The shape of

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2112-526: The Middle Ages and continued well into the 16th century. In Italy, the targa , parma , and rotella were used by common people, fencers and even knights. The development of plate armour made shields less and less common as it eliminated the need for a shield. Lightly armoured troops continued to use shields after men-at-arms and knights ceased to use them. Shields continued in use even after gunpowder powered weapons made them essentially obsolete on

2178-466: The Romans and the Samnites. Plutarch mentioned the use of the long shield in a battle that took place in 366 BC. Couissin notes archaeological evidence shows that the scutum was in general use among Italic peoples long before the Samnite Wars and argues that it was not obtained from the Samnites. In some parts of Italy the scutum had been used since pre-historical times. Polybius gave

2244-409: The Romans sprang to their feet, extended their battle-line... and confronting the foe face to face, fell upon them... and cut down great numbers. However, the testudo was not invincible, as Dio also gives an account of a Roman shield array being defeated by Parthian knights and horse archers at the Battle of Carrhae : For if [the legionaries] decided to lock shields for the purpose of avoiding

2310-455: The arrows by the closeness of their array, the [knights] were upon them with a rush, striking down some, and at least scattering the others; and if they extended their ranks to avoid this, they would be struck with the arrows. Cassius Dio describes scuta being used to aid an ambush: Now Pompey was anxious to lead Orestes into conflict before he should find out the number of the Romans, for fear that when he learned it he might retreat... he kept

2376-465: The aspis to create the Greek phalanx formation. Their shields offered protection not only for themselves but for their comrades to their left. Examples of Germanic wooden shields circa 350 BC – 500 AD survive from weapons sacrifices in Danish bogs. The heavily armored Roman legionaries carried large shields ( scuta ) that could provide far more protection, but made swift movement

2442-504: The battlefield. In the 18th century, the Scottish clans used a small, round targe that was partially effective against the firearms of the time, although it was arguably more often used against British infantry bayonets and cavalry swords in close-in fighting. During the 19th century, non-industrial cultures with little access to guns were still using war shields. Zulu warriors carried large lightweight shields called Ishlangu made from

2508-402: The body from head to foot, the figure-of-eight and tower shield offered most of the warrior's body a good deal of protection in hand-to-hand combat. The Ancient Greek hoplites used a round, bowl-shaped wooden shield that was reinforced with bronze and called an aspis . The aspis was also the longest-lasting and most famous and influential of all of the ancient Greek shields. The Spartans used

2574-483: The evidence is not as precise. No two surviving vessels measure an identical volume, and scholarly opinion on the actual volume ranges between 500 ml (17 US fl oz) and 580 ml (20 US fl oz). The core volume units are: The units of weight or mass were mostly based on factors of 12. Several of the unit names were also the names of coins during the Roman Republic and had

2640-539: The form of kites or flatirons, or had rounded tops on a rectangular base with perhaps an eye-hole, to look through when used with combat. The shield was held by a central grip or by straps with some going over or around the user's arm and one or more being held by the hand. Often shields were decorated with a painted pattern or an animal representation to show their army or clan. It was common for Aristocratic officials such and knights , barons , dukes , and kings to have their shields painted with customary designs known as

2706-431: The former, the soldiers carried a round shield, which the Romans called a clipeus . In the latter, they used the scutum , which was larger. Originally, it was oblong and convex, but by the first century BC, it had developed into the rectangular, semi-cylindrical shield that is popularly associated with the scutum in modern times. This was not the only kind the Romans used; Roman shields were of varying types depending on

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2772-603: The fortress of Dura-Europos ) indicate the subsequent use of oval or round shields which were not semi-cylindrical but were either dished (bowl-shaped) or flat. Roman artwork from the end of the 3rd century until the end of Antiquity show soldiers wielding oval or round shields. The word " scutum " survived the Fall of the Western Empire and remained in the military vocabulary of the Byzantine Empire . Even in

2838-517: The ground. It also has an iron shield boss ( umbo ) fixed to it which turns aside the most formidable blows from stones, spears, swords, and other heavy missiles. Roman rectangular scutums of later eras were smaller than Republican oval scutums and often varied in length from approximately 37 to 42 in (94 to 107 cm) tall (approximately 3 to 3.5 Roman feet , covering the shoulder to top of knee), and 24 to 33 in (61 to 84 cm) wide (approximately 2 to 2.7 Roman feet ). The oval scutum

2904-585: The libra were: The subdivisions of the uncia were: The complicated Roman calendar was replaced by the Julian calendar in 45 BC. In the Julian calendar, an ordinary year is 365 days long, and a leap year is 366 days long. Between 45 BC and AD 1, leap years occurred at irregular intervals. Starting in AD ;4, leap years occurred regularly every four years. Year numbers were rarely used; rather,

2970-475: The number of the cohort and century to which he belonged. The name Scutum has been adopted as one of the 88 modern constellations , and by UK luxury clothing maker Aquascutum , which became famous in the 19th century for its waterproof menswear. Hence the name, which in Latin means "water shield". In zoology, the term scute or scutum is used for a flat and hardened part of the anatomy of an animal, such as

3036-440: The rest behind... in a kneeling position and covered with their shields, causing them to remain motionless, so that Orestes should not ascertain their presence until he came to close quarters. Dio also notes the use of the scutum as a tool of psychological warfare during the capture of Syracuse : Accordingly some of the gates were opened by [legionaries], and as soon as a few others had entered, all, both inside and outside, at

3102-492: The role of the soldier who carried it. Oval, circular and rectangular shapes were used throughout Roman history. The first depictions of the scutum are by the tatti Este culture in the 8th century BC, and subsequently spread to the Italians, Illyrians , and Celts . In the early days of ancient Rome (from the late regal period to the first part of the early republican period) Roman soldiers wore clipeus , which were like

3168-550: The same fractional value of a larger base unit: libra for weight and as for coin. Modern estimates of the libra range from 322 to 329 g (11.4 to 11.6 oz) with 5076 grains or 328.9 g (11.60 oz) an accepted figure. The as was reduced from 12 ounces to 2 after the First Punic War , to 1 during the Second Punic War , and to half an ounce by the 131 BC Lex Papiria . The divisions of

3234-510: The shell of a turtle. Shield Shields vary greatly in size and shape, ranging from large panels that protect the user's whole body to small models (such as the buckler ) that were intended for hand-to-hand-combat use. Shields also vary a great deal in thickness; whereas some shields were made of relatively deep, absorbent, wooden planking to protect soldiers from the impact of spears and crossbow bolts, others were thinner and lighter and designed mainly for deflecting blade strikes (like

3300-481: The shield tight to the arm. Used by foot and mounted troops alike, it gradually came to replace the round shield as the common choice until the end of the 12th century, when more efficient limb armour allowed the shields to grow shorter, and be entirely replaced by the 14th century. As body armour improved, knight 's shields became smaller, leading to the familiar heater shield style. Both kite and heater style shields were made of several layers of laminated wood, with

3366-421: The shield without obstructing vision. Similarly, metal riot shields often have a small window at eye level for this purpose. These riot shields are most commonly used to block and push back crowds when the users stand in a "wall" to block protesters, and to protect against shrapnel , projectiles like stones and bricks , molotov cocktails , and during hand-to-hand combat . The second type of modern police shield

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3432-422: The troops. It formed a shield wall and a mass of spears pointing towards the enemy. Its compactness provided a thrusting force that had a great impact on the enemy and made frontal assaults against it very difficult. However, it worked only if the soldiers kept the formation tight and had the discipline needed to keep its compactness in the thick of the battle. It was a rigid form of fighting and its maneuverability

3498-615: The user's back when not in use or on horseback. During the 14th–13th century BC, the Sards or Shardana , working as mercenaries for the Egyptian pharaoh Ramses II , utilized either large or small round shields against the Hittites . The Mycenaean Greeks used two types of shields: the "figure-of-eight" shield and a rectangular "tower" shield. These shields were made primarily from a wicker frame and then reinforced with leather. Covering

3564-659: The week the Dominica , or the Lord's day . In 321, Constantine the Great gave his subjects every Sunday off in honor of his family's tutelary deity, the Unconquered Sun , thus cementing the seven-day week into Roman civil society. The Romans divided the daytime into twelve horae or hours starting at sunrise and ending at sunset. The night was divided into four watches. The duration of these hours varied with seasons; in

3630-436: The winter, when the daylight period was shorter, its 12 hours were correspondingly shorter and its four watches were correspondingly longer. Astrologers divided the solar day into 24 equal hours, and these astrological hours became the basis for medieval clocks and our modern 24-hour mean solar day . Although the division of hours into minutes and seconds did not occur until the Middle Ages, Classical astrologers had

3696-526: The year was specified by naming the Roman consuls for that year. (As consuls' terms latterly ran from January to December, this eventually caused January, rather than March, to be considered the start of the year.) When a year number was required, the Greek Olympiads were used, or the count of years since the founding of Rome, " ab urbe condita " in 753 BC. In the Middle Ages , the year numbering

3762-417: Was 105.5 centimetres (41.5 in) high, 41 centimetres (16 in) across, and 30 centimetres (12 in) deep (due to its semicylindrical nature). It is made from strips of wood that are 30 to 80 millimetres (1.2 to 3.1 in) wide and 1.5 to 2 millimetres (0.059 to 0.079 in) thick. They are put together in three layers, so that the total thickness of the wood layer is 4.5 to 6 millimetres (0.18 to 0.24 in). It

3828-516: Was changed to the Anno Domini count, based on the supposed birth year of Jesus . The calendar used in most of the modern world, the Gregorian calendar , differs from the Julian calendar in that it skips three leap years every four centuries (i.e. 97 leap years in every 400) to more closely approximate the length of the tropical year . The Romans grouped days into an eight-day cycle called

3894-464: Was defined as 1 ⁄ 48 of a cubic foot, known as an amphora quadrantal. Using the value 296 mm (11.7 in) for the Roman foot, an amphora quadrantal can be computed at approximately 25.9 L (6.8 US gal), so a sextarius (by the same method) would theoretically measure 540.3 ml (19.02 imp fl oz; 18.27 US fl oz), which is about 95% of an imperial pint (568.26125 ml). Archaeologically, however,

3960-440: Was done to accommodate the shaft of a spear, thus facilitating tactics requiring the soldiers to stand close together forming a wall of shields . Typical in the early European Middle Ages were round shields with light, non-splitting wood like linden , fir , alder , or poplar , usually reinforced with leather cover on one or both sides and occasionally metal rims, encircling a metal shield boss . These light shields suited

4026-482: Was hung outside the Curia Julia , serving as a symbol of the princeps "valour, clemency, justice and piety". The 5th century writer Vegetius added that scuta helped in identification: Lest the soldiers in the confusion of battle should be separated from their comrades, every cohort had its shields painted in a manner peculiar to itself. The name of each soldier was also written on his shield, together with

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4092-422: Was likely well made and extremely sturdy. The scutum was light enough to be held in one hand and its large height and width covered the entire wielder, making him very unlikely to be hit by missile fire and in hand-to-hand combat. The metal boss , or umbo , in the centre of the scutum also made it an auxiliary punching weapon. Its composite construction meant that early versions of the scutum could fail from

4158-432: Was limited. The small shields provided less protection. However, their smaller size afforded more mobility. Their round shape enabled the soldiers to interlock them to hold the line together. Sometime in the early fourth century BC, the Romans changed their military tactics from the hoplite phalanx to the manipular formation, which was much more flexible. This involved a change in military equipment. The scutum replaced

4224-458: Was much more durable. According to Polybius, the scutum gave Roman soldiers an edge over their Carthaginian enemies during the Punic Wars : "Their arms also give the men both protection and confidence, which they owed to the size of the shield." The Roman writer Suetonius recorded anecdotes of the heroic centurion Cassius Scaeva and legionary Gaius Acilius who fought under Caesar in

4290-524: Was reckoned to begin at sunrise. The Jews also used a seven-day week, which began Saturday evening. The seventh day of the week they called Sabbath ; the other days they numbered rather than named, except for Friday, which could be called either the Parasceve or the sixth day. Each Jewish day begins at sunset. Christians followed the Jewish seven-day week, except that they commonly called the first day of

4356-566: Was the pes (plural: pedes ) or Roman foot . Investigation of its relation to the English foot goes back at least to 1647, when John Greaves published his Discourse on the Romane foot . Greaves visited Rome in 1639, and measured, among other things, the foot measure on the tomb of Titus Statilius Aper, that on the statue of Cossutius formerly in the gardens of Angelo Colocci , the congius of Vespasian previously measured by Villalpandus ,

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