Yetholm-type shields

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Yelthom-type shield from South Cadbury. Displayed at Somerset County Museum, Taunton.

Yetholm-type shields are artefacts dating from 1200-800 BC during the bronze age. Some twenty shields of this type have been discovered, all from the British Isles except for one find in Denmark. The shields vary significantly in size, but the shields are otherwise very similar in the details of their design. Shields of this type are named for Yetholm in southern Scotland where a peat bog yielded three examples.

Typically, the shields are made of copper alloy sheet metal about 0.6 mm thick. The copper alloy is a high-tin bronze: copper with 11-14% tin. They are round with a central domed boss created by hammering out from the back of the shield. The disk of the shield is decorated with concentric rings of raised ridges a couple of millimetres high. Between the ridges are rings of small hemispherical bosses about 4 mm across. The decoration was formed by hammering from the reverse side, a technique is that known today as Repoussé.

The outer edge of the shield has be folded back and hammered down to form a strong rim. A handle made from a thicker piece of sheet bronze folded over is riveted across the open bowl of the boss, also attached are a pair of metal tabs for a carrying strap. The rivet heads required for the attachment of these fittings are present on the front of the shield, but are very similar to the decorative raised bosses and so exactly incorporated into the design that they are not easy to identify.

It is likely that some sort of flanged punch was used to create the bosses with such uniform size and depth, although no such contemporary tool has been found. The embossing technique would probably have required the work piece to be supported, possibly by a bed of pitch or lead, but such details of the manufacturing process are unknown. That some eye-judgement was required is revealed in the detail of the spacing of the bosses: as the craftsman came to complete a ring, the spacing would be changed slightly so as to ensure an even design and make the starting place inconspicuous. Overall, the shields show a high degree of technical accomplishment and given the very high degree of similarity between the shields it is highly likely that all the shields were made in the same workshop by a very small number of craftsmen.

Yetholm shields of varying size have been found. They vary in the number of embossed rings, but the size of the embossed features themselves is very consistent. The largest shield of this type was found at Ayrshire, it has twenty nine circular ridges and twenty nine rings of bosses; the smallest, from County Antrim, had just eleven ridges and rings.

The overall design, and especially the presence of the tabs, clearly indicate that the shield did not have any kind of wooden backing or other reinforcement. Although the embossed design and folded rim impart some stiffness, the shields would have been too flimsy for use in combat. In an example of experimental archaeology, a reconstruction made from copper hardened so as to be representative of a Yetholm-type shield was subjected to a blow from a replica bronze sword: the shield was cut in two by a single stroke. Furthermore, the handles are quite small allowing only about 110 mm for the fingers, making the shield difficult to manipulate as would be required in combat.

However, one, shield from Long Wittenham in Oxfordshire, has two lozenge-shaped perforations, interpreted as piercings caused by a spearhead, other piercings had been hammered flat to close the gap, suggesting that the shield was a veteran of several combat encounters.

With the exception of the specimen found at South Cadbury, all the shields were found in wet contexts. They formed part of a widespread practice of placing valuable objects in wet places. Presumably, this practice was motivated by religious beliefs, the details of which are unknown - although other ancient societies such as the Celts had similar practices. Some of the shields have been found with damage which is likely to have occurred as a part of a sacrificial ceremony. The South Cadbury specimen had been laid in a ditch and stabbed three times with a wooden stake.

Yetholm-type shields would have been impressive, high-status items. It is speculated that they were primarily used for display and ceremony rather than combat (the evidence of the Long Wittenham shield notwithstanding) but it is not possible to be sure. There is however, one other tantalising source of evidence: rock carvings from this period made in Southern Scandinavia include depictions of shields decorated with concentric rings and/or rings of dots. The artist could not hope to show the fine detail of a Yetholm-type shield, but the suggested similarity is striking.