Kiltubbrid shield
The Kiltubbrid shield is an Iron Age wooden shield . It was discovered in 1863 in the townland of Kiltubbrid ( Irish Cill Tiobrad ) north of Lough Scur in a bog about 3.0 meters deep in County Leitrim in Ireland . It is the only perfect shield of its kind in Europe. It dates from the late Latène period (around 450 BC to the turn of the century).
description
The Kiltubbrid shield is a well-preserved oval shield made of alder wood, carved in one piece, with a central shield boss 7.6 cm high and seven slightly raised concentric rib rings. The ribs have a notch on one side, which represents a break in the symmetry of the ornament. The shrinkage may have caused the indentation. The back is smooth and has a handle. The original dimensions were 66 cm high and 53 cm wide with a thickness of 1.25 cm. In contrast to classic shields, through which the forearm was passed, this shield, which was grasped at the cross piece under the umbo (boss), could be stretched out to full arm's length in combat. Ready-to-use wooden shields were covered with leather, painted and decorated.
Ruaidhrí Ó Flaithbheartaigh explained in 1685 that the Irish name for the alder is "fearn" because "shields are made of it". The Irish "sciath" (shield) is more recently applied to a flat, oval-shaped wicker basket - sometimes called a shovel - used for sifting potatoes, similar in size and shape to the Kiltubbrid wooden shield.
A depiction on the Market Cross of Kells in County Meath apparently shows a conflict between various armed groups. One group is armed with long spears and boss shields. The opposing shields are round, have no bosses and the men are armed with short swords, as can often be found on Crannógs . With the introduction of iron as the primary material for weapons, however, warfare changed long before the depiction was placed on the stone cross. Shields made of alder wood alone would be useless against iron weapons. In this respect, this shield is just as unsuitable as a weapon as Åtte Bjerge's flint sword . At that time there were long metal shields ( Wandsworth shield , Witham shield , Yetholm shield )
See also
literature
- Robert Alexander Stewart MacAllister: Ireland in pre-Celtic times Dublin , London, Maunsel and Roberts, limited 1921.
- Frank Mitchell: Treasures of early Irish art, 1500 BC to 1500 AC Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York 1977
- Joseph Raftery: Artists and craftsmen. Irish art treasures . National Museum of Ireland, Dublin 1980
