This page cannot be viewed in frames

Go to page

If you have found a spelling error, please, notify us by selecting that text and pressing Ctrl+Enter.

Scutum

This post is also available in: Polish (polski)

Scutum
The shield was large enough to cover the entire legionary's torso and slightly convex, which in turn meant that the opponent's blows slipped on an uneven surface.

Literally, scutum means “shield” (pl. scuta). It was an oval shield, and then a rectangular shield, used to parry blows, which was a constant inventory of Roman soldiers from the 5th century BCE until the end of the 3rd century CE when the use of rectangular shields ceased, and they became oval or round.

In early Rome, Roman soldiers were armed like Greek hoplites, which could also be partly due to Etruscan influence in Rome. In their equipment was a round shield – clipeus – which was smaller than the later scutum.

In the 4th century CE, it was decided to move away from Hoplite tactics in favor of a manipular system that required changes in armaments. Reforms are attributed to the legendary Marcus Furius Camillus during the First or Second Samnite War (343-341 or 327-304 BCE).

Oval scutum

Scutum during the Roman Republic. Early shield form.

Polybius gives a fairly accurate description1 of scutum from the 2nd century BCE. In his time the shield was made of two layers thin boards arranged alternately like a stave and glued with beef glue. The whole was covered with cloth and leather. A fusiform reinforcement extending through the centre of the dial expanding in the central part. At this point, the shield was additionally reinforced with an iron or bronze umb (so-called banded), called a “tumor” or “navel”.

Polybius gives thanks to the fitting of the centre, the shield in close combat served as an offensive weapon allowing “to push” on the opponent. It should be noted that the “tumor” was also supposed to take blows at the most sensitive point of the shield, and at the same time cover the hand directly behind it. The top and bottom of the shield were iron. At the back, at the height of the umbo, there was a recess and a horizontal dipstick, which could be hugged. On the surface of the shield, to decorate, various figures and emblems were painted, for example, silhouettes of animals (eagles), laurel wreaths or a lightning symbol. Lightning was a common motif appearing on shields – the symbol of Jupiter or the wings that symbolized the goddess of victory Nike.

The scutum shield was large enough to cover the entire legionary’s torso and slightly convex, which in turn meant that the opponent’s blows slid down the uneven surface.

An example of an oval shield is found – from the time of Caesar – a shield in Egypt (the so-called scutum of Fayum)2, which was made of three layers of boards and was covered with felt of sheep’s wool. It also had a longitudinal spindle reinforcement that survived until the end of the 1st century BCE.

Rectangular scutum

Cross-section of the rectangular shield scutum.
On Creative Commons Attribution license - On the same terms 3.0.

In the second half of the first century CE, the shield underwent the first stage of transformation. The top and bottom of the shield are cut off. The new scutum – in the shape of a rectangle – appeared not earlier than 40-50 CE. The shield consisted of three layers of boards connected by beef glue, from the outside it was additionally covered with a layer of canvas and calfskin. The shield was also made of three thin layers of wood 2 mm thick, which were then properly formed to obtain a convex shape of the shield. As in the earlier version, a metal rim ran around the edges of the shield, protecting it from blows. The characteristic shape allowed putting the shield on the ground.

The only shield of this type preserved to this day (from Dura-Europos in Syria) was 105.5 cm high, 41 cm wide, 30 cm deep (due to the convex shape) and 5-6 mm thick. Its weight was between 6 and 7 kg. It is generally accepted that scutum weighed up to 10 kg.

The only known Roman shield scutum that has survived to our time. The find comes from around 250 CE. It was found in Dura Europos (today’s Syria). On the shield, you can see the image of a lion, eagle and winged deities.

Of the Roman legionaries’ equipment, scutum was the most prominent feature and constituted their primary protective armament. Soldiers carried it in their left hand during the fight and hung it on her back with a thong around her neck. To protect it from the rain, scutum was kept during the march in a special goat or cowhide cover.

Praetorians wore an oval shield from republic times, for example during ceremonies. During the fight, they used rectangular shields, just like legionaries. The auxilia troops wore a round shield.

Testudo

The most spectacular and associated with the Roman shield is a curtain in the form of the so-called turtle (testudo) protecting against javelins and fire from bows, slingshots, etc. The testudo was used in defensive operations and offensive. He was perfect on the battlefield as well as during the siege and storming of enemy buildings.

There is a known case described by Tacitus when during the second battle of Bedriacum (69 CE) two legionaries took the shields of fallen opponents and got under the cover of night to camp to destroy the catapult.

Oval shield of the Roman legionary. It was in force from the turn of the second and third century CE until the fall of the empire.
On Creative Commons Attribution license - On the same terms 3.0.

Decline

At the turn of the second and third century CE, scutum was out of use and replaced with a new type of oval shield that survived until the decline and fall of the empire. Such shields were already in the equipment of auxiliary wards (auxiliares). They were flat and oval in outline. They had metal fittings and umbo. Such shields appear on the Trajan column showing auxiliary units. Most often they referred to zoomorphic or floral and geometric patterns that testified to the barbaric origin of auxiliary units.

Footnotes
  1. Polibius, The Histories, VI, 23
  2. However, there are voices suggesting that the object found is simply an Egyptian shield, modeled on a Roman scutum.
Sources
  • Stowarzyszenie Pro Antica
  • Michael Simkins, The Roman Army from Caesar to Trajan
  • Graham Summer, Raffaele D'Amato, Arms and Armour of the Imperial Roman Soldier
  • John Warry, Armie świata antycznego, Warszawa 1995
  • Zdzisław Żygulski, Broń Starożytna

IMPERIUM ROMANUM needs your support!

If you like the content that I collect on the website and that I share on social media channels I will be grateful for the support. Even the smallest amounts will allow me to pay for further corrections, improvements on the site and pay the server.

Support IMPERIUM ROMANUM!

Support IMPERIUM ROMANUM!

Find out more!

Check your curiosity and learn something new about the ancient world of the Romans. By clicking on the link below, you will be redirected to a random entry.

Random curiosity

Random curiosity

Discover secrets of ancient Rome!

If you want to be up to date with newest articles on website and discoveries from the world of ancient Rome, subscribe to the newsletter, which is sent each Saturday.

Subscribe to newsletter!

Subscribe to newsletter

Spelling error report

The following text will be sent to our editors: