What is a Scutum?

The scutum was a 10kg large oval curved shield made from two sheets of wood glued together and covered with canvas and leather, usually with a spindle shaped boss along the vertical length of the shield. The best surviving example, from Dura-Europos in Syria, was 1.06 m (42 in) in height, a chord of 0.66 m (26 in), with a distance around the curve of 0.86 m (34 in), and a thickness of 5 mm to 6 mm.