ARCHAIC PERIOD, CIRCA 600-500 B.C.

The hoplite shield is likely a descendant of the circular shields that were prevalent in central Europe during the Late Bronze Age. By the Archaic period in Greece, these large circular shields had a wood core, lined with leather, and fitted with a thin sheet-bronze facing, as seen here. Fittings on the interior allowed the warrior to slide his arm through, with the hand-grip positioned near the rim. Of particular note here is the embossed border composed of an elaborate guilloche pattern, framed by bands of dots. For a closely-related example excavated at Olympia, see no. 67,2, p. 106, pl. 67 in A. Mallwitz and H.-V. Herrmann, Die Funde aus Olympia. Others with similar guilloche borders have also been found in Southern Italy (see for example the rim fragment now in Bari, p. 52, no. 5 in P. Connolly, Greek and Rome at War).

This shield was previously restored circa 1974 as a newspaper dating from that year was secured to the interior and revealed during a later restoration conducted by the current owner in November 2018.