2D images of artefacts
Weapons • Armour • Other Equipment
Weapons
Pilum head and shank from Kempten, the shank being bent just below the head. Image: Xocolatl
Pilum
Two pila from Hod Hill with bent shanks. They have lost their tangs or sockets. Image: © The Trustees of the British Museum (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0)
Pila
Ferrous pilum head and shank from Little Linford. The square-sectioned shank is bent just below the pyramidal head (which also has a bent tip). Image: Buckinghamshire County Council/Ros Tyrrell
Pilum
Complete irons from square-socketed pila found at Harzhorn. Both have expansions where weights may have been attached. Image: Axel Hindemith
Pila
Ferrous pila in Saalburg museum, with a tanged example on the left and a socketed one in the middle. Image: MCB
Pila
Socketed pilum from Gunzenhausen bent in several places. Image: Wolfgang Sauber
Pilum
Four plumbatae from Enns (AUT) in the Museum Lauriacum. Image: Wolfgang Sauber (CC BY-SA 3.0)
Plumbatae
Four ferrous spearheads from the Bloomberg site in London. Image: MCB
Spearheads
Spearhead from Valkenburg. Image: National Museum of Antiquities, Leiden (CC0 1.0)
Spearhead
Iron spearhead from Valkenburg. Image: National Museum of Antiquities, Leiden
Spearhead
Conical ferrous spear butt from Nijmegen. Image: Museum het Valkhof (Public Domain Mark 1.0):
Spear butt
Pompeii-type short sword Image: National Museum of Antiquities, Leiden (CC0 1.0)
Pompeii-type short sword
Armour
The Kasr el-Harit plywood shield, thought to be the only example of a curved Republican Roman legionary shield to survive (although it is often claimed as 'Celtic' or Hellenistic, despite the fact that only Roman shields seem to have been shaped to the body in this way). Now in the National Police Museum in Cairo (EGY). Image Ashashyou (CC BY-SA 4.0)
Shield
The curved rectangular shield from Tower 19 at Dura-Europos in its current state. Image: Yale Art Gallery
Dura shield
Curved, rectangular copper-alloy shield boss with six of eight domed shield nails in situ. Image: P. Gross
Shield boss
Curved rectangular copper-alloy shield boss from the River Tyne at South Shields with a hemispherical boss, engraved and punctim decoration, and selective tinning. Image: © The Trustees of the British Museum (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0)
Shield boss
Oval ferrous shield boss found (together with the remains of shield edging) on the Hunerberg at Nijmegen (NLD). Image: Museum het Valkhof (Public Domain Mark 1.0)
Shield boss
Circular copper-alloy shield boss from Kirkham (GBR) decorated with incised representations of Mars, tropaea, eagles, winged victories, and various other figures. Image: © The Trustees of the British Museum (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0)
Shield boss
Circular copper-alloy shield boss from Zwammerdam with a hemispherical dome. There are punctim ownership inscriptions, including T(urma) VERACIS PUPI, indicating it belonged to a cavalryman. Image: National Museum of Antiquities, Leiden
Shield boss
Hemispherical shield boss of copper alloy with a raised spina across its centre. Image: National Museum of Antiquities, Leiden (CC0)
Shield boss
Copper-alloy shield boss from Nijmegen. Image: National Museum of Antiquities, Leiden (CC0 1.0)
Shield boss
Decorated copper-alloy shield boss depicting Roman victory over the Dacians and bearing a Latin insacription transliterated into Greek commemorating a member of the equites singulares. The object has sustained a horizontal blow to the umbo. All four decorated shield nails survive in situ. Private collection. Image: P. Gross
Shield boss
Conical 'Germanic' shield boss found with the Bryastovets helmet. Two inscriptions referring to centurions indicate an auxiliary infantry (or part-mounted) unit. One plain and one crimp-edged shield nail survive in situ. Image: Dan Diffendale
Shield boss
Front face of an unprovenanced copper-alloy shield boss with embossed decoration (including Minerva on the dome, snakes and an eagle on the flange) and selective tinning, originally part of the Guttmann collection. Image: Hermann Historica
Shield boss
Other Equipment
Decorative roundel, possibly a sword suspension button from a belt, with an embossed hunt scene, from Valkenburg. Image: National Museum of Antiquities, Leiden (CC0 1.0)
Suspension button
Copper-alloy belt plate with chased and punctim decoration, the central boss being surrounded by a hunt scene. Image MCB
Belt plate
Hunt scene belt plate from Magdalensberg (AUT). The cut-out to the left suggests this was originally a buckle- or dagger-frog-plate. Image: MCB
Belt plate
Belt-plate stamp of copper alloy found at Sheepen, Colchester, matching examples of such plates from Chichester (amongst others). Image: MCB
Stamp
Copper-alloy belt plate with embossed lotus-flower motifs in a central roundel from Valkenburg. Image: National Museum of Antiquities, Leiden (CC0 1.0)
Belt plate
Copper-alloy embossed belt plates and buckle from Chassenard (FRA). Image: Cangadoba (CC BY-SA 4.0)
Belt plates
Copper-alloy inlaid belt plate and buckle from Valkenburg. Image: National Museum of Antiquities, Leiden (CC0)
Belt plate and buckle
Belt plate with attached buckle from Valkenburg. Image: National Museum of Antiquities, Leiden (CC0 1.0)
Belt plate and buckle
Hinged belt plate and buckle from Pompeii. Image: Metropolitan Museum of Art (PD)
Belt plate and buckle
A copper-alloy buckle plate with hinge, but missing most of its belt plate. Image: National Museum of Antiquities, Leiden (CC0 1.0)
Buckle plate
Undecorated copper alloy belt belt and suspension (for sword or dagger) from Valkenburg. Image: National Museum of Antiquities, Leiden (CC0)
Belt plate and suspension frog
Hinged, openwork belt plate of copper alloy and hinged suspension frog (lacking its button) from Valkenburg. Image: National Museum of Antiquities, Leiden (CC0 1.0)
Belt plate and suspension frog