Bronze shield boss
Roman Britain, 2nd century AD
Kirkham, Lancashire
This boss is from the centre of an auxiliary shield. It is
lightly engraved with a war-like scene showing Mars, the Roman
warrior god, surrounded by battle trophies, eagles, winged
victories and other human figures. The engraver left no space for
the rivets which had to be crudely driven through the decorative
scheme. Domed metal shield bosses served the dual role of
deflecting weapon blows and allowing the hand-grip to be
recessed.
T.W. Potter and C. Johns, Roman Britain-2 (London, The British Museum Press, 1992)