Shield finds in Ireland
Among the shield finds in Ireland are only two round shields made of bronze . The bronze shield from Lough Gur (object number: IA: 1.872.15), found in a bog between Ballinamoona and Herbertstown, is a yetholm shield . It was found in County Limerick and is in the National Museum of Ireland . It is about 71 cm in diameter. A smaller bronze shield with large bosses found near Athenry , County Galway , is in the British Museum .
background
Bronze shields were not found associated with other objects on the British Isles , so that there is no clear indication of their age. However, they are usually dated to the late Bronze Age. They are decorated with numerous small bosses separated by concentric circles. The bronze sheet of the shields has been driven out .
There are two other shield finds in Ireland that are also in the National Museum. One is the Kiltubbrid shield, an Iron Age wooden shield with concentric rings. The alder wood shield found in 1863 three meters deep in a swamp in County Leitrim .
Found in 1908 near Clonbrin, County Longford , the leather shield is the only one of its kind in Europe. It consists of a solid piece of leather, almost 6 mm thick. It is slightly oval and measures 0.52 by 0.495 m. He has a boss pressed out of the leather, which is surrounded by three concentric rings, also raised. The inner ring is round and the other two show a reentering angle. The shield has 24 small round bosses, unevenly distributed between the outer rings, similar to those on bronze shields. A leather handle is on the back. The shield appears to be complete with no trace of wooden supports. It is only stabilized by the bulging edge. The leather shield was probably made in the early Iron Age.
The round shields of the late Bronze Age were replaced by oval shields, which form the transition to the elongated shield of the late Celtic period in Great Britain.
Description of the shield from County Limerick:
“Ancient Irish bronze shield, 28 inches in diameter, found in a bog in the Co. Limerick. Shields were often made of yew-wood, which is very hard: and oftener still of wickerwork, covered outside with tough hides, generally tanned. Wickerwork shields were sometimes large enough to cover the whole body. On the inside of every shield was a crossbar which was held in the hand: and for additional safety a leather strap fastened to the shield, went round the warrior's neck. "
“Old Irish bronze shield, 28 inches in diameter, found on a bog in County Limerick. The shields were often made of yew wood, which is very hard: and often wickerwork that was covered with hard skins outside and generally tanned. Wicker shields were sometimes large enough to cover the entire body. On the inside of each sign was a crossbar that was hand-held. For additional security, a leather strap attached to the shield went around the warrior's neck. "
Smaller replicas of such round shields were also found on gorgets (decorative collars for the neck, which were mostly made of gold).
literature
- Patrick Weston Joyce : A Reading Book in Irish History (= Project Gutenberg . No. 33439 ). Longmans, Green, & Co., London 1900, p. 138 and 152 (English, gutenberg.org - round shields from Ireland drawings with description).
Web links
- Leather shield image (English)
- Image of the bronze shield from Lough Gur (English)
Individual evidence
- ↑ Patrick Weston Joyce : Dermat O'Dyna fights the wizard-champion, and after a time rescues his comrades . In: A Reading Book in Irish History (= Project Gutenberg . No. 33439 ). Longmans, Green, & Co., London 1900, p. 138 (English, gutenberg.org - drawing of a round shield from Ireland with description).
- ↑ PW Joyce: Prince Alfred in Ireland . In: A Reading Book in Irish History (= Project Gutenberg . No. 33439 ). Longmans, Green, & Co., London 1900, p. 152 (English, gutenberg.org - drawing of a round shield from Ireland with description).