Monday 1 June 2009

a Testudo

.
.

.
.
seen at Corbidge on Saturday; the testudo, or tortoise formation , was commonly used by Roman Legions during battles, particularly sieges; it was essentially a defensive formation by which the legionaries would hold their shields overhead, except for the front rows, thereby creating a kind of shell-like armour protecting them against arrows or other missiles from the front or above.
.

1 comment:

  1. Very, very interesting. Until I read that they were shields I would not have ever guessed. Just great.

    ReplyDelete