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The scutum (; : 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 (). In 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 the role of the soldier who carried it. Oval, circular and rectangular shapes were used throughout Roman history.
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 the (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 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 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 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).Sallust, The Conspiracy of Catiline, 51 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 the Romans and the Samnites.Livy, The History of Rome, 8.8.3 Plutarch mentioned the use of the long shield in a battle that took place in 366 BC.Plutarch Parallel Lives, Camillus, 40.4 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.Couissin P., Les armes romaines, pp. 224, 240-7 In some parts of Italy the scutum had been used since pre-historical times.Salmon, E.T., Samnium and the Samnites (1967), p.107
Polybius gave a description of the early second-century scutum BC:
Roman rectangular scuta of later eras were smaller than Republican oval scuta and often varied in length from approximately tall (approximately 3 to 3.5 Roman feet, covering the shoulder to top of knee), and wide (approximately 2 to 2.7
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The oval scutum is depicted on the Altar of Domitius Ahenobarbus in Rome, the monument of Aemilius Paullus at Delphi, and there is an actual example found at Kharabet Ihrit 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 Archaeology (especially from 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. from the end of the 3rd century until the Late 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 the 11th century, the Byzantines called their heavy infantry skutatoi (Medieval Greek. σκυτατοί), and several modern Romance languages use derivatives of the word.
The best surviving example, from Dura-Europos in Syria, was high, across, and 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 was likely well made and extremely sturdy.
The aspis, which it replaced, provided less protective coverage than the scutum but was much more durable.
The Roman writer Suetonius recorded anecdotes of the heroic centurion Cassius Scaeva and legionary Gaius Acilius who fought under Caesar in the Battle of Dyrrachium and the battle of Massilia, respectively:
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 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 a testudo put to good use by Marcus Antonius's men while on campaign in Armenia:
However, the testudo was not invincible, as Dio also gives an account of a Roman shield array being defeated by cataphract and cavalry archer at the Battle of Carrhae:
Dio also notes the use of the scutum as a tool of psychological warfare during the capture of Syracuse:
In 27 BC, the emperor Augustus was awarded a golden shield by the Roman 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, 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:
In zoology, the term scute or scutum is used for a flat and hardened part of the anatomy of an animal, such as the shell of a turtle.
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