© Matthias Kabel via Wikimedia Commons
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Here's a quick and easy Roman soldier's shield in 8 steps - perfect for your school project.
You will need:- Card - a big box is great or you can stick card or empty cereal boxes together
- scissors
- a ruler
- glue and sticky tape
- tin foil
- red wrapping paper - we used leftover Christmas wrapping paper (you can use paint) and if you haven't got that - you could cover the whole shield in foil.
Make a shield in minutes
1. Draw out the shield shape on cardboard. Make it curved up at the top.
Our shield is 46cm wide and 56cm in height or two cereal packets plus the side of the packet across and two boxes high (see image below left).
2. Then cut it out.
3. Cover the shield in red paper and sticky tape it down at the back of the shield (see below right).Now for the straps.
L-R: how to make a Roman shieldA Roman shield only had one strap at the back for the soldier's hand to go into but you can have two for added comfort.
4. Cut out two rectangular straps out of cardboard - the top strap where your hand goes can be shorter than the other one.
5. Secure the straps with sticky tape, or something stronger like duck tape if you've got it, to the shield's back.
Do you know what the metal bit on the front of the Roman shield was called? It's called a shield boss.
The shield boss was in the centre of the shield and would help make it stronger and protect the soldier's hand.The British Musem has the shield boss of Junius Dubitatus in its collections. If you look closely, you can see Mars, the Roman God of War .
Now it's time to make your own shield boss...
Make your shield boss
6. Make your shield boss out of a square of tin foil (see below left).
7. Then stick some scrunched up tin foil to make a dome-shaped piece to the middle of the shield boss (see below right).8. Click on the links below to Roman objects from museum collections, print them out and stick them on your foil shield boss - like we've done.
L-R: how to make a Roman shield boss
You can choose from:- A statuette of Mars, the god of war from the British Museum.
- A coin from Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery showing a victory monument
- Pegasus on the Roman intaglio from the Museum of London
We copied the picture of Pegasus on the Roman intaglio from the Museum of London collection.We drew the shape lightly with a pencil onto our tin foil shield boss, then went over it with a permanent black marker pen.
You now have a basic Roman shield.
Roman shield facts
A Roman soldier's shield - or 'scutum' - was rectangular in shape and curved to fit and protect the body down to the knees.
The shield was made of lightweight wood, then covered with leather or linen material and held together with metal.
If you were a Roman legionary you would hold your sword in one hand to attack the enemy and your shield in your other hand to protect your body and to push back the enemy.
There was a single handle at the back of the shield and the soldier's hand was protected at the front of the shield by an iron shield boss. The boss was in the centre of the shield and would help to make the shield stronger.
Show Me can show you lots of Roman artefacts like this real life example of a Roman helmet, which you can see in real life at the Canterbury Roman Museum.
Or if you want to keep on making, why not have a go at this ancient Roman toga. Togas like this would have been worn by Romans when they were not in battle.
All images copyright Culture24 unless stated otherwise
- Card - a big box is great or you can stick card or empty cereal boxes together
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