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The Roman Scutum
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The scutum shield of long oval or rectangular form was the body shield preferred over much of the Mediterranean region and especially by the Roman military up until roughly the 3rd century C.E. The scutum was represented in the armies of the Samnites, Iberians, Carthaginians, Celts, and Germanic tribes but in the Roman version was characterized by a rectangular outline and a protective curvature.
The Roman scutum was assembled with the strips of wood, then heated and placed in a press that would give it the distinctive rounded shape. It would then be reinforced by a covering of leather and trimmed with iron or bronze sidings. It was shaped in a curve for the legions' purposes and stood about four and a half feet in height and two feet in width, with a weight approximating 20 pounds.
Its shape would protect the standing soldier from objects coming at him directly, deflecting blows to the sides and lessening the impact of these. The scuta were weapons in their own right, not only defensive tools. The central ridge along the middle (umbo) of the shield was forged from one piece of iron or bronze and could be used as a blunt force against the enemy. The scutum was used by the Roman legionnaire in union with the highly effective and manageable gladius.
The best surviving example, from Dura-Europos, was 1.06 m (48in) in height, had a chord of 0.66 m (26in), a distance around the curve of 0.86 m (34in), and a thickness of 5 mm to 6 mm. The features of the scutum that were most successful for the protection of the soldier were the raised umbo and the sloping sides of the shield that alternately were effective in diminishing impact from blows and sturdy enough as forms to inflict damage as well.
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