A major problem has been that tombs often contain round bronze objects which are not shield bosses, but cymbals, horse trappings or belt fittings.

These round bosses had a central dome protecting the handgrip, sometimes reinforced with a spike which could be used as an extra weapon at need (Snodgrass 1965a, p. Much of our evidence comes from bronze shield bosses with which they were sometimes reinforced. This is similar to contemporary Hittite shields and also to the Dipylon shield.įrom 900 to 700, the single-grip round shield remained in use and came in varying sizes (Boardman 1998, p. An exception is a vase fragment from Iolkos in Thessaly dating from the thirteenth century, which seems to show a small shield with in-curving sides (Bulletin de Correspondance Hellénique 1961, p. At the end of the Mycenaean period we saw that the round shield with central grip was the most common type, perhaps with larger examples being carried by foot soldiers, and smaller examples by chariot-borne infantry.

From the beginning of the period until about 700, there was a wide variety of shields in use, judging by both archaeological finds and artistic depictions. Although helmets and armour were worn by warriors before and after the introduction of hoplite warfare, it was the hoplite shield that helped to bring about the change.

Hoplite shield art