Bronze shield

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This bronze shield is one of three found in a hoard at Yetholm in Roxburghshire. It was more ornamental than practical. The shields were probably deposited in a watery area as gifts to the gods, sometime between 1150 and 750 BC.

The shield has a central boss surrounded by 27 rows of alternating ribs and bosses. This type of decoration is the most common type found on similar shields from this period in Britain. The central boss and handle are detached.

Late Bronze Age shields, with cauldrons and buckets, represent the pinnacle of the sheet bronze worker's craft. These shields were beaten out from a solid cake of bronze. They were display objects, probably used in ritualised ceremonial conflict.

Record details

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• Online ID: 000-100-102-891-C
• Image Rights Holder: National Museums Scotland
• Project: National Museums Scotland
  Project description   View all records in project
• Ref: National Museums Scotland  Q.L.1933.2114
• Date: 1150 - 750 BC
  Between 1150 and 750 BC
  
• Material: Bronze, beaten
  Shield
  
• Dimensions:
• What: Shield
  
• Subject:
• Who:
• Where: Scotland, Roxburghshire, Yetholm
  
• Event:
• Description: Circular shield of beaten bronze showing alternate concentric rings of small mouldings and small pellets, found near Yetholm in 1869, 1150 - 750 BC
  
• References:
  • Coles, John M. Scottish late Bronze Age metalwork: typology, distributions and chronology. Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland, 93 (1959-1960), pp 16-134, esp. pp 26, 88, 131-2. 
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