> I was confounding Ajax's seven-layer hide shield "like a wall" with
> an eighth layer of bronze outside (Il. 7.215) with Achilles' shield,
> which has five metal layers and nothing else. (20.245) - and yes, it
> does stop a spear. Both these should be sturdier than the Battersea
> shield with its pretty Movement runes.
>
> Most shields seem to have had a shiny (?metal?) surface; 'phaeine
> aspis' is a fixed phrase.
Remember that not all "iron" equipment is 100% iron - just as an "Iron
Spear" is a wooden shaft with an iron head, an "Iron shield" can be a layer
of iron on top of wood (or seven layers of bull-hide, or reeds, or...).
RR
It is by my order and for the good of the state that the bearer of this has
done what he has done.
- Richelieu