Shield Boss Research Articles

Radiology meets archaeology: digital restoration and 3D printing using CT data.

Archaeological objects are often recovered in blocks since highly porous materials and unstable and highly decayed objects cannot always be uncovered undamaged or time and resources for classic uncovering are lacking. Therefore, clinical computed tomography (CT) combined with freely available software solutions should be tested as a simple and fast method for visualizing and analyzing archaeological finds as an alternative to time-consuming restoration. As an example, a block with a shield boss was selected from a block excavation and examined by means of CT. Using the freely available software 3D-Slicer (https://www.slicer.org/), the shield boss and handle were segmented in the surrounding soil with different tools. They were then digitally reconstructed and then restored using Meshmixer (Autodesk Inc., San Francisco, CA). A 3D print was generated based on the reconstructed model of the shield boss. The individual steps of CT examination of the block recovery, segmentation, reconstruction, and 3D printing were successfully performed. Based on the restored fragments of the shield boss, it was possible to date the object and to determine the initial properties of the find non-destructively without classic restoration. Radiological imaging combined with digital reconstruction and 3D printing makes it possible to determine decisive characteristics of the archaeological find before it is uncovered and restored, which is a time-consuming process. This opens up new opportunities for cooperation between radiology and archaeology for the evaluation and analysis of archaeological finds. · The transfer of medical technology, digital image processing and 3D printing to archaeology has been demonstrated.. · The digital restoration and reconstruction of archaeological objects using CT images is possible.. · Medical imaging could make a significant contribution to the investigation and reconstruction of archaeological objects.. · Frohwerk E, Dürr A, Fiebich M et al. Radiology meets archaeology: digital restoration and 3D printing using CT data. Fortschr Röntgenstr 2024; 196: 607 - 611.

Върховете от копия от II–I в. пр.Хр. и погребалните обреди в Северозападна България

The subject of the research are spear points which form part of the armament and accoutrement sets placed in graves. They usually consist of a sword, knife, an applique (shield boss) from a shield of iron, and clay vessels. They were used by the local Thracian population, which inhabited the territory of present-day Northwestern Bulgaria during the 2nd–1st C. BC. The sets are dated on the basis of the shape of the swords, which is characteristic for La Tene armament during LT C2: 200/180–150/120 BC and during LT D: 150/120 BC–16 AD – the creation of the Roman province Moesia. The sets are inventory from graves which show the greatest concentration of their type between the rivers Ogosta and Iskar. In the present publication the burial structures from which they originate are examined, and the burial rite which was used in their deposition. In it the information is analysed from the conducted archaeological research and the extant evidence regarding finds which have been discovered in various circumstances such as building activity, agricultural work and treasure hunter’s activities. The research model used allows the formulation of an important conclusion – two models for interment are presented: 1) cremation on a pyre and the subsequent construction of a mound above it; 2) cremation at an undisclosed location and deposition of the burned remains and armament in a pit, above which no earthen structure or mound was piled up.

Decorated shield boss from Haithabu

Decorated shield boss from Haithabu

Prone burials and evidence of interpersonal violence: A case study from early medieval Bavaria, Germany

AbstractIn early medieval times, the people of the Baiuvarii inhabited large parts of modern Bavaria (Germany). Among other evidence, about 10,000 graves dating from this time provide evidence of an exceptional level of settlement activity. These graves were arranged predominately in multiple parallel rows, so‐called Reihengräber, whereby the bodies were placed in stretched, supine positions. Burials that deviate from this custom are rarely found. For this reason, the excavation of a male skeleton at the cemetery of Aying‐Großhelfendorf (seventh to eighth centuries) attracted particular attention. The skeleton with label number 115 was found in a prone position and appears to have sustained four separate instances of sharp force trauma. The grave included a number of metal grave goods including a spatha and an iron shield boss. One focus of the study was on the macroscopic examination of the violence‐related lesions found on skeleton 115. They were located on the femur, the humerus, the frontal bone, and the maxilla on the right side of the body. The shape of the lesions indicates the insertion of a heavy, sharp, or bladed instrument. There is no evidence of healing detectable, leading to the conclusion that the individual was most likely involved in fight with fatal outcome. Subsequently, the victim was buried in a prone position alongside 17 other individuals in an otherwise regular graveyard. A possible interpretation of this difference in burial treatment is the fear of the victim's dependents of an unexpected or violent death or an expression of foreign origin. The aim of the paper is to present the most likely interpretation of the evidence in correlation with the anthropological and archaeological data.

New Materials for the Study of the Funeral Rite of the Przeworsk Culture in Western Buh Region

Burial monuments are an important element of the spiritual culture of the Przeworsk population of the Western Buh region. The main type of burials was cremation in an urn or earthen pit. The cremation rite had dominated throughout its existence, but there are cases of inhumation burials. Borrowing from the Celts, the population of the Przeworsk culture buried weapons, ISSN 0235-3490 (Print), ISSN 2616-499X (Online). Археологія, 2022, № 1 143 jewelry, personal items and pottery. Almost all items were intentionally damaged. There are cases of intentional damage to small items: brooches, spurs, scissors, pins, needles, etc. One of these burial complexes was discovered by the so-called «black diggers» and transferred to the Lviv Regional Council «History and Local Lore Museum». The burial complex contained a ritually bent double-edged sword, a shield handle and a spearhead, which were connected to each other, an iron brooches and a ritually damaged shield boss. The four iron spurs were connected in pairs. The funeral rite and the items found in the burial have numerous analogies on the monuments of the Przeworsk culture in Poland and Western Ukraine. Among the total number of burials of the Przeworsk culture, burials with swords stand out. Obviously, the presence of a sword is an evidence of the high social status of its owner. The set of features of the material found in the burial allows us to confidently date it to the phase C1a—C2 of the Late Roman period (middle — end of the 3rd century AD). The advance of the bearers of the Przeworsk culture to the south and east in this chronological period was accompanied by local military conflicts. In any case, the Przeworsk population in the region of the Western Buh was an integral part of ethnic and cultural processes that lasted throughout the 3rd century. The formation of the source base of funerary monuments of the Przeworsk culture in the future will make it possible to identify certain regional features in topography, funeral inventory and ritual actions. Given that the study of monuments of this archaeological culture in Ukraine remains low.

A forgotten shield boss from Brodno, Lower Silesia, Poland. A contribution to the study of Roman influences in ‘barbarian’ armament in the Roman period

In the National Archives in Wrocław, in the Department of the Province of Silesia are kept documents about the protection and conservation of historical monuments, and specifically information on archaeological finds from the areas around the town of Środa Śląska (German: Neumarkt). One of those artefacts was an iron shield boss of the Roman period, found at the cremation cemetery belonging to the Przeworsk Culture in Brodno, Lower Silesia. It is most probably of Scandinavian origin, and is closely related to the finds from Scandinavia and the Black Sea coast, but the form of the shield boss confirms the Roman inspiration behind ‘barbarian’ military equipment. Chronologically the boss from Brodno should be placed within phase C1b, i.e. roughly in the mid-3rd century A.D. The analogies from other sepulchral sites suggest that the boss might have been an element in the inventory of a well-equipped warrior, perhaps a member of a travelling band. The presence of such an artefact in a cemetery of the Przeworsk culture in the Oder river basin is proof of intense contacts between various communities which inhabited vast areas of “barbaric” Europe between the Baltic and the Black Sea at that time.

Schildbuckel und Ihre Entwicklung im Karpatenbecken des 5. Jahrhunderts / Shield bosses and their development in the Carpathian Basin of the 5th century

This study presents the 5th century shield bosses types known from the material of burials in the Carpathian Basin and their development. A wide range of objects spread throughout the area during the late Roman Imperial and the early migration periods (Type of Dobrodzień/Zieling T-Varianten, Csongrad/Zieling L, Misery/Zieling H1, Vermand, Horgos/Libenau; Kiszombor). It is typical that the graves in which shields were placed are known mainly from the eastern part of the Carpathian Basin (we do not know any such burials from Transdanubia). Among the conical shield bosses, specimens ending in a spike also appear during the middle third of the 5th century, evoking earlier forms (ancient Germanic traditions). Unfortunately, previous research has often classified certain types into one type based only on similar characteristics (form of the cone). In the present writing, in order to avoid this, I tried to separate the pieces previously classified only for the Horgos/Libenau type. In the case of the latest pieces (second half and end of the 5th century), the spike should be hammered (Grave Kiszombor-B 308). In the latest pieces, which appear in the earliest graves of the row-grave cemeteries, the spike was hammered. At the end of the 5th century, pieces of Merovingian culture known in the west appear, which spread very rapidly in the area and in the local material of row-grave cemeteries.

Un conjunto de equipo militar romano procedente de Brigantum/Bregenz (austria). evidencia arqueológica sobre un insólito <em>scutum</em> rectangular

En 1908 se encontraron diez elementos de equipamiento militar de hierro en Brigantium/Bregenz (Austria). Entre estos figuran los fragmentos de cuatro o cinco umbos de scuta rectangulares. Se trata del conjunto de este tipo de umbos, arqueológicamente insólitos, más grande conocido. Probablemente su buen estado de conservación se debe a que las piezas estaban quemadas y su reciclado resultaba imposible. La datación tipológica de los umbos indica que fueron enterrados durante del cierre de la fortaleza en Brigantium en la época claudiana o poco antes. No está claro en qué contexto estructural fueron recuperados los objetos, porque las condiciones estratigráficas no fueron documentadas e y no se sabe lo suficiente acerca de los edificios militares en el área de la excavación. Debido a su situación dentro de la fortaleza, parece probable que se tratase de un barracón o almacén localizado en la via principalis.

Uzbrojenie z cmentarzyska kultury luboszyckiej w Sadzarzewicach, pow. Krosno Odrzańskie

The cemetery in Sadzarzewice (former Sadersdorf) is one of the most important archaeological sites in Lower Lusatia and it dates back to the pre-Roman and Roman iron ages. It was included into the Luboszyce culture by Grzegorz Domanski in his work from 1979. Along with two other cemeteries, located nearby in Grabice and Luboszyce, the Sadzarzewice complex constitutes the oldest chronological horizon of this taxonomic group, and the region is regarded as the starting point of its later expansion. Despite the site’s great significance for the prehistory studies of the Oder basin, its state of study is far from satisfactory. This is mostly due to the fact it was discovered and explored at the end of the XIXth century, that is in the time archaeological methods were still in development. Further complication was caused by the history of the region – nearly all of the artifacts were lost during WWII, and as an effect, the cemetery’s inventory is known only from a publication dating back to 1895. Nevertheless, during my research for my dissertation on the armament of the Luboszyce culture, I managed to identify a couple of those lost finds. This small group consisted of an ornamented spearhead, an untypical javelin- or arrowhead, and a shield grip. The total number of Roman iron age weapon and equestrian equipment finds from the cemetery is 41 – 4 swords, 2 sword scabbard belt loops, 2 axes, 6 spearheads, 2 javelin heads, 7 arrowheads, 4 shield bosses, 2 shield grips and 12 spurs. The artifacts from Sadzarzewice fit into the phase B2b–C2 (late 2nd–3rd cent. A.D.) range. Those weapons that were possible to date with considerable precision can be situated within the phase C1, some even can be as old as B2b, although there is no certain evidence of such early chronology. Another notable feature of the Sadzarzewice artifacts is the evidence of various interregional influences – either from the West (the Elbian circle) and East (the Wielbark and Przeworsk cultures) which phenomenon, although characteristic for the Luboszyce culture in general, is best observed in the early stages of this unit’s development.

Umbilical swellings in calves: a continuing challenge

MOST farm animal vets will be familiar with the line ‘while you're here, could you just take a quick look at this calf with a swelling?’, often uttered when they...

Skjoldbuler – offer og symbol Ritualer, kosmologi og magt i skandinavisk jernalder

Shield bosses – offerings and symbols – Rituals, cosmology and power in Iron Age ScandinaviaThe South Scandinavian war booty offerings, which date from the Roman and Germanic Iron Ages, contain thousands of weapons and other military objects. Many of these have been intentionally damaged using remarkable force and in strange ways. The focus of this article is on the destruction of weapons and the aim is to reach an understanding of this phenomenon in the light of the social structure in the Iron Age.Of the 32 bronze shield bosses recovered from Illerup Ådal, eight have been broken using the butt of an axe head (figs. 2-4). The axes from Illerup are also quite damaged and it appears as if they have been used to destroy many hundreds of objects. Some of the imprints seen on the bronze shield bosses even match the dimensions of the axe butts (figs. 1 and 5). There appears to be some consistency in the manner in which the shield bosses were damaged even though they belong to two different stages of the offering site. This could result from a fixed ritual method of destroying shield bosses. It is also possible that only a few individuals participated in the destruction of these objects, because the ways in which the shield bosses have been broken are very similar.It is remarkable that the implements used to destroy shield bosses and weapons in the war booty offerings were other weapons. This could be due to a belief in personification of weapons/objects, such that they represented the warriors to whom they had belonged.There is also a peculiar absence of items in the finds from the Illerup site. Many of the axes that must have been used to destroy the shield bosses have not been recovered. In only six instances out of 12 has it been possible to find an axe that matches the dimensions of the distinct square impressions seen on the shield bosses. Other items and fragments are also missing. It is concluded here that the missing objects could have been taken to other locations or given as gifts to princes or warlords, possibly in connection with the creation of alliances.The Early Roman Iron Age was a period of great unrest as new and old elites fought for power. This is why the alliances were so important. As a consequence of this new social and economic organisation, warriors were now employed full time by the elite. It is therefore only natural that war, warrior identity and weapons were also dominant concepts in religious life. This can be seen in the finds recovered from war booty offerings, graves, central places etc. Central places appear to take over the role of religious centres after the war booty offerings ended. Votive activity appears to have become more institutionalised during the period when the war booty sacrifices flourished. Subsequently, this became particularly pronounced and participation may have been reserved for the select few. This reflects the fact that the elite had now established their right to the power and had no longer a need to compete openly.Anni Pind NielsenHedensted

A Parade Shield from the Przeworsk Culture Cemetery in Czersk, near Warsaw, Poland: An International Sign of Status in the Early Roman Period

A shield boss and a shield grip with silver decoration were recently found in the Przeworsk culture cemetery at Czersk in the Piaseczno district in central Poland. The shield boss, type J.7, has three times three bronze thimble-headed rivets, covered with silver. The bronze shield grip has silvered rivet plates with thimble-headed rivets, decorative filigree studs, and openwork decoration. The technique that was used to produce this specimen is not clear, despite metallographic analysis. The shield has analogies in Scandinavia (Hunn, Radved, Brostorp) and the northern Elbian circle (Hamfelde). It was probably a parade shield, an international sign of the warrior elite in the Early Roman Period in the barbaricum. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/ 10.15181/ab.v18i0.67 Key words: Roman Period, elite graves, parade weaponry, Przeworsk culture.

Mapping of corrosion products of highly altered archeological iron using voltammetry of microparticles

The application of the voltammetry of microparticles to identify corrosion products on different localizations of highly altered archeological iron pieces is described. The use of graphite pencil methodology permits to mapping different corrosion products, namely, akaganeite, goethite, hematite, jarosite, magnetite, maghemite and siderite, in iron artifacts. Identification protocols are based on square wave voltammetric measurements performed at sample-modified paraffin-impregnated graphite electrodes immersed into aqueous HCl. This methodology is applied for mapping corrosion products on an Iberian–Roman shield boss from the Torre la Sal archeological site (Oropesa, Spain) dated in the IVth century BC.

Los hallazgos de armas en los campamentos romanos alrededor de Numancia

This paper provides an overview of the finds of arms and armour from the Roman camps around Numantia, i.e. the circumvallation surrounding the oppidum of Renieblas. Virtually all of the material presented was recovered during the 1906-1912 excavations led by Adolf Schulten. Since the conclusion of these research campaigns, there have only been isolated surface finds. The entire corpus of finds was drawn and - in part - photographed. The material was furher analysed and published as a monograph (Luik 2002). A particularly interesting result of this analysis is that there are relatively few defensive items such as body-armour or shield bosses. Offensive weaponry, and ranged weapons in particular, on the other hand, are frequent and include spearheads, socketed as well as tanged pila and various types of arrow and bolt heads. Interestingly, there are few swords or daggers, and little associated equipment parts. All in all, the presented fi nds provide a unique insight into the equipment and arms of the Roman Army during the Late Republic. At the same time, the corpus of material discussed and presented provides new information regarding the internal structure of the Roman Army at the time.

Senojo ir vidurinio geležies amžiaus skydai Lietuvoje

Karyba – organizuoti agresyvūs veiksmai tarp dviejų nepriklausomų politinių vienetų – kaip socialinis reiskinys žinoma jau nuo seniausių laikų. Dar neseniai buvo manoma, kad kariniai konfliktai (pirmiausia reidai, o vėliau ir karai) atsirado kartu su žemdirbyste ir gyvulininkyste, taciau naujausi archeologiniai duomenys rodo, kad tai daug ankstesnis reiskinys – pirmosios jo užuomazgos pastebimos jau paleolite (Thorpe, 2003). [...]

Neue germanische Funde aus der Festung Keszthely-Fenékpuszta

Recent German finds from the territory of the fortification of Keszthely-Fenekpuszta . Many characteristic German objects are known from the cemeteries of the fortification. The four objects found on the territory of the fortification, which are described in this study, complete the number of these objects. In 2002, a gilded bronze dress pin with a head representation from the beginning of the 7 th century was found during investment-led excavation on the territory of so-called building “A”. A mould with the representation of “weapon dancers” was recovered at the same place in 1979. An iron shield boss was unearthed together with other objects from the beginning of the 5 th century in a refuse pit during the excavations in 2002. A private collector found a sabretache mount from the second half of the 6 th century on the surface in the E part of the fortification.

IV. The Use of the Shield: Combat and Display

Very little work has been done on the use of the shield, and it is the aim of this chapter to demonstrate how this aspect may be approached using archaeological evidence. Although the use of the shield is easier to infer from written and pictorial sources, written evidence on this aspect is few and far between, and pictorial evidence is generally later than the period dealt with here. Archaeological evidence that can be adduced includes sizes and shapes of shield boards and bosses, damage and repairs, decoration and some board fittings. Weapon combinations in burials do not give much straightforward information on fighting practices involving the shield (see p. 67). The archaeological record is also unlikely to throw any light on the use of the shield in battlefield tactics, such as the ‘shield wall’ referred to in several sources (Beowulf, line 3118; Battle of Maldon; and the Battle of Brunanburh in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, AD 937).

Et bundt våben fra Vimose

Et bundt våben fra Vimose

Nye udgravninger i Illerup ådal

Nye udgravninger i Illerup ådal

Sugar-Loaf Shield Bosses

The descriptionZuckerhuthas been used in German publications to distinguish the tall shield bosses of the eighth century which have certain variations in form but remain constant in being unusually tall in proportion to their width. The term is taken from the shape of the clay mould in which, as late as the end of the nineteenth century, sugar was left to drain and set, the walls of the resulting sugar-loaves being usually slightly convex, rising to a point. ‘Sugar-loaf’ is therefore used here as a general term for the whole species of shield boss of tall proportions, but more specifically for the high, curved cone. The straight-sided cone may be more properly referred to as conical. Some of these have been noticed in England, and as they begin at the end of the pagan period when grave goods are sparse, it seemed likely that a study of them with their associated finds and relations overseas might provide a useful contribution to this part of Saxon chronology. It must be remembered that examination of shield bosses of this period is often made difficult by a thick coating of rust with other accretions, but the inside is sometimes less affected and yields more information. Although every effort has been made towards accuracy, it is possible that details may have been missed which might become visible after cleaning, but a number of the bosses are so fragmentary that further treatment would not seem to be advisable.