Bark shield

[Jim Webster]

Just saw this article
(With apologies that it's not in the daily mail  )

https://www.theguardian.com/science/2019/may/23/2300-year-old-iron-age-bark-shield-leicestershire?

On reading about the shapes created, pictish shields came to mind

[Duncan Head]

Nice find. The BBC version https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-leicestershire-48377927 has a reconstruction, and the Indy at https://www.independent.co.uk/news/science/archaeology/celtic-shield-leicestershire-archaeologist-ancient-warfare-a8927871.html talks more about the visible battle damage.

[Jim Webster]

Nice find. The BBC version https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-leicestershire-48377927 has a reconstruction, and the Indy at https://www.independent.co.uk/news/science/archaeology/celtic-shield-leicestershire-archaeologist-ancient-warfare-a8927871.html talks more about the visible battle damage.

and even painting details, scored and painted with a red checker board

[Erpingham]

Lots of questions with this one.  Whose shield was it?  Not an individual but a type - a skirmisher, a warrior, a cavalryman?  Was it a poor man's shield?  Certainly, it features no expensive metal parts but it is not unsophisticated, with its strengtheners, wooden rim and woven boss.  Is it, as the newspaper reports suggest, a deliberately lighter shield type?  Plenty of fun speculation there.  Be worth seeing it in a publication that fits in with known archaeological specimens to compare.

Incidentally, the reconstruction reminded me in general shape and size of the Battersea shield - is the latter a deluxe version of a common shield type represented by the new bog-standard (sorry, couldn't resist ) one?

[Mick Hession]

Incidentally, the reconstruction reminded me in general shape and size of the Battersea shield - is the latter a deluxe version of a common shield type represented by the new bog-standard (sorry, couldn't resist ) one?

The Guardian report made that very point.

Cheers
Mick