by Christos Boutsidispresenting the paper for Nikolaos Kleisiaris (Koryvantes assotiation, Greece)

1. ““ KKOORRYYVVAANNTTEESS ’’’’
Association of Historical Studies

2. KORYVANTES Association of Historic Studies
Reconstructing the “Dipylon” Shield
Experimental archaeology,
experiential testing
and modern educational adaptations
Research and construction by
Dimitris KATSIKIS
Researcher and Re-constructor of ancient weaponry
www.hellenicarmors.com
Study by
Nikolaos KLEISIARIS
Mech. Eng. (MSc, BEng)
Presented by
Christos BOUTSIDIS
Archaeologist (MA, PhD Candidate)
KORYVANTES Association of Historic Studies
koryvanteshoplites@gmail.com

3. The Dipylon Shield – a mystery of the late Bronze Age
KORYVANTES Association of Historic Studies
 The Dipylon shield is a massive elliptical shield with
2 characteristic side openings
 It exists since mid-Bronze Age alongside Figure-8
and Sakkos body-shields
 It is the only Bronze Age body-shield type still in use
throughout Geometric Era and into the Archaic Era
evolving gradually into the smaller Boetian shield
 No full or even partial physical remains have ever
been found probably due to its perishable nature
 It is attested in artistic depictions over a period of
almost 1000 years but these provide few details
 It obviously varied in typology ranging from earlier
voluminous body-shields down to Boetian-like sizes
 Essentially, like most things of the Geometric Era,
its nature and type of use remain a mystery

4. Reconstructing a Dipylon Shield – the body shield variant
KORYVANTES Association of Historic Studies
 In late 2011 our Association undertook the first
modern systematic attempt of experimentally
reconstructing the Dipylon shield
 Following study, an earlier body-shield type in use
till early Geometric Era was opted for construction
 The construction made exclusive use of natural,
locally traced materials, and techniques of the era
 Built upon the dimensions of the bearer, it measures
1.25m high, 0.90m wide and has a 0.10m radius of
curvature covering the quasi-totality of user’s body
 Two 3mm layers of cowhide were tied with leather
straps at 80 points around a structural wicker frame
completed with mulberry lattice and decorated with
1,2mm copper bosses
 The construction emphasized on structural strength,
it has a minimum thickness of protection of 6mm of
leather and it weighs about 11,5 kg

5. Reconstructing a Dipylon Shield – with baldric and double-grip
KORYVANTES Association of Historic Studies
 The interior of the shield was covered in plain
natural thick linen to give it a “campaign” outlook
 On the upper side openings there was placed a
leather baldric for carrying the shield on shoulder
 The grip placement was a major issue as there is no
evidence in the ancient representations
 The single grip seemed more difficult to handle
because of weight and width and associated torque
 The Boetian-style vertical double-grip did not cater
for all range of movements when the baldric is used
 Adding an Argive-type double grip was found to be
comfortable in handling particularly for baldric use
 The shield may be used carried over the shoulder
alone; the double grip also allows the bearer to use
any of the grips alone if momentarily needed

6. Testing the Dipylon Shield – a body shield in use
KORYVANTES Association of Historic Studies
 A first opportunity for extensive practical testing of
the shield appeared during the event for the 2500
years since the Battle of Marathon
 The shield was put to a primary set of basic field
tests related to portability and general ease of use
 In spite of the shield’s weight, the usage of baldric
and double-grip renders it fully portable for long
 It allows a range of movements including frontal and
side positioning with/without usage of baldric as well
as enabling javelin throwing
 The shield is voluminous, static and inherently less
maneuverable than hoplite shields
 Usage of spear through the sides is feasible but
requires training as it is not as easy as overarm
 The side openings were found to be extremely
useful for close-combat and usage of sword

7. The Dipylon Shield – overview of the reconstruction
KORYVANTES Association of Historic Studies
 Our reconstructed Dipylon shield aimed at being an
impressive full-body shield of considerable strength
 The requirement for structural strength while using
materials and tooling of the era was a guideline for
the overall reconstruction
 It is surprisingly portable for its size and weight due
to employment of baldric and double grip
 Yet, its maneuverability has limitations as is the
case for all voluminous, body-size shields
 It can be used with an array of weapons ranging
from spears and swords to javelins and slings
 It provides high levels of protection from missiles,
and cutting/thrusting close-combat weapons
 Interestingly, the shield’s lattice presents a spring
effect that increases the offered protection
 The overall testing has provided experience
concerning most types of body-shields in general

8. The reconstructed Dipylon Shield – into popularisation!
KORYVANTES Association of Historic Studies
 KORYVANTES Association works hard to develop
and maintain effective channels of popularization
 Examples are the Association’s participation in
numerous documentaries, TV programmes etc.
 An indispensable popularization channel is the
direct contact with the public and the live
presentation of the Association’s work in the field
 The latter is done through participation in
established Open Air Museum presentations
 During these Association presents and promotes its
latest work in reconstructing armor and weaponry
as well as showcasing their associated usage
 The reconstructed Dipylon was publicly presented
in the “Gallo-Roman days” 2012 event, an open
air archaeological festival of the Gallo-Roman
Museum of Saint-Romain-en-Gal in Vienne, Lyons
region, France

9. The reconstructed Dipylon Shield – into mass popularisation!
KORYVANTES Association of Historic Studies
 KORYVANTES Association also works hard to find
means of reaching the wider public
 The video games industry, today bigger than the
film industry, is the ideal mass popularization
means
 Advanced video games such as ROME TOTAL
WAR II (RTWII) played by more than 1 million
people around the world form an ideal platform
 KORYVANTES Association works with RTWII
Greek Community in the development of ‘mods’
adding features with historic depth into the game
 This collaborative work resulted in the RTWII Greek
Community being voted 3nd best ‘mod’ in the world
 The team currently works in a Bronze Age theme
featuring Mycenaean units and tactics
 By all means, the Dipylon shield that is currently
being designed is modelled after our reconstruction!

10. Research, experiment, construct, experience, communicate...
KORYVANTES Association of Historic Studies
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