shield of the roman republicThis scutum is made after a variety of examples from the Roman republic. Shields like this were used between the 7th century BC until the 1st century AD. The Republican scutum was ovally shaped, in later times it became rectangular. The scuta were often curved in order to receive blows. This shield is made of several layers of wood and covered with red dyed linen. Its length is 126 cm and its maximum width is 88 cm. It weighs approximately 7 kg. The