The Yetholm-type shield is a distinctive type of shield dating from 1200-800 BC (Bronze Age). The known shields come from Britain and Ireland, excepting one from Denmark. Their modern name comes from Yetholm in southern Scotland where a peat bog yielded three examples. Twenty two examples are known, although some of these are fragmentary, and a further seven or eight are known from written sources but are lost today. The shields vary significantly in size, but are otherwise similar.
Rock carvings from this period made in Southern Scandinavia include depictions of shields decorated with concentric rings or rings of dots. The artist could not hope to show the fine detail of a Yetholm-type shield, but the similarity is striking.
The impressive shields would have indicated high social status.
Read more about Yetholm-type Shield: Construction, Variations
Famous quotes containing the word shield:
“Vice is its own reward. It is virtue which, if it is to be marketed with consumer appeal, must carry Green Shield stamps.”
—Quentin Crisp (b. 1908)