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When they found the shield, University of York archaeologists Michael Bamforth and his colleagues thought it must have been ceremonial, because surely bark couldn't hold up against heavy iron-tipped spears and iron axes. After all, every other Iron Age shield archaeologists have found in Europe so far has been made of wood or metal. But it turned out that the tough, springy bark would have been perfectly capable of repelling arrows. Its lightness may even have made an Iron Age warrior more agile on the battlefield.
[...] Archaeologists working at the Everard Meadows site, south of Leicester in the UK, found the bark shield buried in the mud of a livestock pond. Made of willow or alder bark (microscopic analysis couldn't narrow the species down any further), it had the same elongated shape, slightly narrowed at the waist, as wood and metal shields from the same period.
Radiocarbon dating suggests that sometime between 395 and 255 BCE, the shield's maker peeled a strip of bark several feet wide right off the trunk of a willow or alder tree. They then folded it in half, with the inside of the bark facing out (freshly peeled bark is surprisingly flexible stuff). Small, flat strips of wood inserted between the layers helped strengthen the shield, as did a strip of hazel-wood trim around the edges. The result was about 10mm (0.39 inches) thick, 67cm (26.38 inches) tall, and 37cm (14.6 inches) wide. 2,400 years later, we can only guess at the meaning of the checkerboard pattern etched into the surface of the bark, painted red with pigment from the iron-rich mineral hematite.
[...] Bamforth and his colleagues decided that there was only one way to truly understand how well the shield would have held up in combat: they built their own and shot it with arrows. "As the bark of the shield dried and bent into its final shape, we realized how strong it would be. The bark, which had been soft and easy to cut when 'green' (wet still from being part of a tree) rapidly stiffened up," explained Bamforth. "We shot some arrows from a wooden bow and were surprised to see them bouncing off."
(Score: 2, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday June 02 2019, @05:36PM (9 children)
People who have never worked with wood, are surprised at the properties of wood.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday June 02 2019, @06:05PM (6 children)
All is fun and games until somebody barks up the wrong tree and the shield fails.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday June 02 2019, @06:17PM (5 children)
All shields fail. Shields are expendable, always have been, always will be. But, age of iron, remember? Iron was much more malleable than steel. Would you like a go at hacking a well cured bark shield with a soft iron sword?
(Score: 1, Touché) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday June 02 2019, @11:24PM
Is that an offer?
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday June 03 2019, @02:58AM (3 children)
disambiguation -- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wrought_iron [wikipedia.org]
Wrought iron (with low carbon content) is probably what you are referring to? Roughly equivalent to modern low carbon "mild steel".
Cast iron has high carbon content, and ancient versions are mostly hard and brittle (and relatively cheaper than wrought iron),
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cast_iron#History [wikipedia.org]
(Score: 3, Informative) by aristarchus on Monday June 03 2019, @09:32AM (2 children)
No, wrought iron is iron, not steel. Steel has to have enough, +.1 percent of carbon to even be "mild steel". Increases strength and toughness, if a big of carbon can be introduced. But this was beyond English ironmakers of the time, make in bog wrought iron, which had to be forged into masses to expell all the silica and other slag incorporated in the smelting process. Good swords were made by drawing the iron out into thin rods, and then twisting and forge welding them into a blade, but while the welding and forgeing may have introduces some hardening and even some carbon, the main benefit was to distribute the impurities so that they did form a particular point of failure.
Now Viking steel, made with Swedish charcoal, or Damascus steel, made well east of Damascus. . . Don't get me started on the metallurgy of cutting weapons. But you know, a good bark shield? A good Taoist approach is that what is soft can the defeat what is hard. Water wears down rock, children can bend the toughest men to their will, and paper, well, you know. Some swords would have a back of bronze or brass, explicitly for the purpose of "catching" the opponent's blade. And what, really, is the offensive purpose of a shield?
Cast iron is a much later development, one of a different sort of foundry, and takes advantage of the fact that iron alloyed with a lot of Carbon (4-5%) melts at a much lower temperature, much like saltwater, and flows much better, for casting, hence the name. Nothing pisses me off more, other than the alt-right to which there is parallel, than sword and sorcery films where they open with swords being cast, in open molds, like they were taking place in the bronze age.
(Score: 2) by ewk on Monday June 03 2019, @02:07PM (1 child)
" Nothing pisses me off more, other than the alt-right to which there is parallel, than sword and sorcery films where they open with swords being cast, in open molds, like they were taking place in the bronze age. "
Well... that must be the sorcery part then... that carbon alloyed cast iron actually provides a decent sword... :-)
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(Score: 2) by aristarchus on Monday June 03 2019, @08:29PM
Actually, probably brass. The "swords" for film are usually of aluminium, because the actors are unable to lift the real thing. Cast iron swords would snap at least in twain, even it they only struck a barken shield.
(Score: 2) by MostCynical on Sunday June 02 2019, @09:08PM
Many (if not most) detached houses in Australia and the UK are wood-framed, brick clad.
Are the authors of this study also likely tobe suprised houses are made of wood, even in the 21st Century?
"I guess once you start doubting, there's no end to it." -Batou, Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex
(Score: 3, Insightful) by darkfeline on Sunday June 02 2019, @11:09PM
Bark isn't exactly wood though. Hell, the summary even says "After all, every other Iron Age shield archaeologists have found in Europe so far has been made of WOOD or metal"
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(Score: 2) by captain normal on Sunday June 02 2019, @05:37PM (3 children)
At the risk of adding fodder for the lies of EF and runaway, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9t1mSSNkFxE [youtube.com]
"It is easier to fool someone than it is to convince them that they have been fooled" Mark Twain
(Score: -1, Flamebait) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday June 02 2019, @05:59PM
Just use the current calendar... ~2316 BT (Before Trump)
(Score: 1, Troll) by Runaway1956 on Sunday June 02 2019, @06:21PM (1 child)
Pertinence? Relevancy? Or, more simply put, WTF?
Abortion is the number one killed of children in the United States.
(Score: 3, Informative) by captain normal on Sunday June 02 2019, @08:38PM
Sorry...I miss typed "...likes of...", so I did not mean "lies". I was really ranting about usage of BCE and CE. Also at he end of Simon Whistler's video he mentions that such usage was popular with Jewish writers (and no, I do not have any dislike of Jewish writers nor people). Just that I have noticed a tendency for you and EF to troll on The Jews. I do like Whistler's productions because they are quite entertaining and informative.
"It is easier to fool someone than it is to convince them that they have been fooled" Mark Twain
(Score: 3, Funny) by Rupert Pupnick on Sunday June 02 2019, @06:24PM
Oh yeah? Well, you should see the other guy’s shield.
(Score: 4, Interesting) by HiThere on Sunday June 02 2019, @07:40PM (1 child)
The vikings used wicker shields as protection against arrows well into the middle ages. They could be made light enough to be large enough to be decent protection and still allow one to move around.
Actually, IIUC, they also carried a much smaller metal clad shield for use in close range combat. But that was too small to provide much protection against arrows. (I think the wicker shield also worked well against thrown axes, but I don't remember any sources so...maybe. But the Roman report that the Franks really like to throw axes when attacking, and many vikings settled in Normandy, so...)
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(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday June 03 2019, @09:42AM
So?
*throws a dollar into the hat*
*gets popcorn*