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Artifact: Roman Shield Mount Location Discovered: Unknown Date: 2nd Century A.D. Material: Bronze Diameter: 2 inches |
This bronze Roman shield mount has been dated back to the second century AD. All Roman legionaries were equipped with a large, curved, rectangular shield called a scutum. Scutums were made of several layers of wood glued together and covered with leather. In the center of the shield was the "boss," a large, metal half-sphere protruding from the shield that could be used to strike an enemy soldier (1). This shield mount was likely used to cover a bolt or nail that had attached the boss or leather to a Roman shield.
The apostle Paul compares faith to a shield that can be used to "extinguish the fiery darts of the enemy" in Ephesians 6:16. Paul would have likely seen Roman soldiers on a daily basis during his first imprisonment in Rome, so the Roman scutum was likely the shield that came to his mind as he wrote his epistle to the Ephesians.
The apostle Paul compares faith to a shield that can be used to "extinguish the fiery darts of the enemy" in Ephesians 6:16. Paul would have likely seen Roman soldiers on a daily basis during his first imprisonment in Rome, so the Roman scutum was likely the shield that came to his mind as he wrote his epistle to the Ephesians.
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(1) Robert L. O'Connell, Soul of the Sword: An Illustrated History of Weaponry and Warfare from Prehistory to the Present (New York: Free Press, 2002), 83.
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