The Iron Age Shield... that's made of bark? The Enderby Shield | Curator's Corner S8 Ep7
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- Опубликовано: 27 июн 2024
- In 2015, what we knew about Iron Age shields all changed. And it changed in a field in Leicester...
Iron Age Curator Sophia Adams explains the construction of the first shield made of tree bark ever discovered in the Northern Hemisphere - how it was built, how it was used and how it changes what we know about shields of the time.
It's 2,200 years old. And it's an object you can really get behind.
Content Warning: Contains wholesome depictions of Iron Age woodworking
CHAPTERS
00:00 Intro
01:12 Where the shield was discovered
02:02 The Boss shows this was a shield
02:25 Harvesting & working willow bark
04:05 Reinforcing laths
05:07 The basketry boss
05:34 The hazel rim
06:26 Lime bast stitching
07:30 The poplar handle
07:52 Extra features
08:17 Decoration
09:05 Dating the shield
09:30 Looking at the original boss
10:36 Damage to the original
12:25 Original basketry
12:55 What this shield tells us
14:50 Outro
Acknowledgements:
This shield project was made possible by the inspiration and knowledge of Matthew Beamish and the skills and dedication of a team of field archaeologists, experimental archaeologists, independent specialists, conservators and scientists from The British Museum, University of Leicester Archaeological Services le.ac.uk/ulas, SUERC and York Archaeological Trust; including Caroline Cartwright and Barbara Wills (BM); Matthew Beamish, Adam Clapton and Roger Kipling (ULAS); Diederik Pomstra, Paul Windridge and Michael Bamforth.
With thanks to Everards of Leicestershire and Mike Winterton and family.
#curatorscorner #ironage
Thank goodness there is no music added to this video. Unlike so many other historical presentations, it was a pleasure to listen to from beginning to end Please don't ever change the no-music format!
AMEN
Hats off to the experimental archeologists who figured it out.
And to the people who excavated in wet clay.
I love it whenever the "this is a reconstructed shield everyone, not the original" pops up. And it's so interesting to see how they implemented organic material to create the shield through such craftsmanship.
You know there's gonna be dumb Americans claiming it couldn't be in such good shape after that long.
This is the kind of archeology I LOVE. Not about finding gold and jewels or some big flashy thing....but finds which reveal so much of the detail and complexity of the lives of people.
The sheer range of the materials used, all so specific, to make the one item is breath taking.
I often think about how much archeological knowledge was destroyed by the crass "treasure hunter" types. Like that goon who used dynamite to blow up Mayan temples.
I love Curator's Corner. I learn something new with every episode. It's a brilliant series.
Yes. The reason why I’m subscribed to this channel!
I wish you all that somebody will look at you with same love as this lady looks at the shield (just a reminder - the reconstruction not the original).
Pretty neat find. When I was knee high to a grasshopper, dad bought us kids Viking helmets, shields and swords from the local 5 and Dime. Within two weeks the horns where knocked off the helmets, Shields rent, and one sword broken. What more could you ask for young warriors.
Interesting thought, it could be a toy or practice shield. It could also teach the maker skills that could be applied to more practical but mundane items.
The size makes me wonder. Not that a smaller shield can't still be useful, as the targe and buckler demonstrate. But 3mm is about half as thick as the wood of typical shields made from planks which were also covered with cowhide. I'd be curious how the size compares to other shields of the era.
That was such a nice presentation. The curator gave due credit to her team and gave us a really detailed tour of the shield. It was nice to have possible contexts for its production and its use too. I'm for the jungle buster idea although perhaps Bark Shields were not unknown in skirmishes too.
Another super curator's corner !
The North American Iroquois people used wooden shields and armor in battle until the arrival of Champlain with soldiers armed with guns around 1603 ce
@@wayne00k Great and highly relevant information . Fitting the material to the task I suppose . Thank you for responding so nicely .
:) Those people were specialists at survival at a time, when being good at what you do made all the difference between life and death a lot more often than it is the case today. I really appreciate this showing in the presentation!
@@dayegilharno4988 I just HAVE to agree with you 👍🏼
If you've ever pushed yourself through undergrowth you'd know this would be more of an hinderance than a helpful tool, a sword would cut straight through the centre boss, if I had to guess I'd say it was made to practice fighting in battle with an opponent using a wooden sword, or even used in a combative sport.
Wonderful presentation! MOre Sophia Adams, please!
"Absence of evidence isn't evidence of absence"... very true. But the temptation is often for people to fill the absence with "what must have been", and that has led to many a furphy indeed!
I think it's fascinating to see the diverse knowledge of materials and different crafts, all coming together. Perhaps a pinnacle of craftsmanship before metal dominated. The replica is beautiful as well as functional, well done.
It's pretty humbling. I'm delighted when I can go out to my garden and identify a seedling. Imagine having such a comprehensive understanding of the physical attributes of every part of every plant at every stage of its development that you could engineer such a remarkable object. No written instructions: All this lore is stored in your head.
In a sense, metal never "dominated". We retrospectively define "ages" by the most durable archaeological finds: stone, then copper, bronze, then iron. These were the pinnacle of technology at the time, requiring extraction of materials (flint mines, copper mines, etc.) transport/trade in materials, and then in the case of metal, smelting, smithing, and so on. However, clothes, shoes, bows, spear shafts, buildings, boats, fishing nets, ropes, and most other things in daily use were made wholly or mainly from organic materials. Thing is, it is rare for organics to survive for thousands of years, and they often leave little imprint in the soil. Bronze survives very well, and iron can survive in the right conditions, and even when it doesn't it often leaves a visible oxide residue. Bark, wool, and timber often simply rot away in the same way as if they had never been used to make something. Survivor bias: we know more about the stuff that didn't rot away, and it distorts our view of the era it came from.
The small size and delicate material makes me wonder if it was for a child, ceremonial or as a toy.
This is great. I've made wooden shields and I've worked with all these materials while bushcrafting, making baskets and bark containers. Seeing two loves of mine together is fascinating! Thank you for sharing.
Thank you so much for this video. I was totally absorbed by Sophia's enthusiasm and knowledge.
It's staggering when you begin to think about the amount of accumulated knowledge that went into the making of this shield. The properties of each species of tree that certain parts of it were made from can only have resulted from the trials and errors of countless artisans before them. A fairly simple looking object like this is amazing in not only that it survived these thousands of years but that it was actually crafted in the first place. Amazing!
He barked up the right tree I guess 😊
This is by far my favorite series on RUclips! I've watched every single one of the Curator's Corner episodes, because they're always really interesting! Without exception, the curators manage to pull me in and keep me engaged for the whole length of the video! Once again: very well done, perfect example of how the digital transformation should be done.
Thinking about this it makes sense. Not all people could use metals to make shields. Folks that had great basket-making skills could create a functional shield without needing expensive metals. Thanks for sharing this!
Total guess but perhaps the beautiful metal shields were for the nobles and this bark shield were for the regulars farmer/soldiers.
An amazing find. And incredible reconstruction. Thank you for sharing.
Sophia Adams has just gained a new fan- I look forward to seeing more of her videos. And. as a side note, I love her hair style. It looks fantastic!
I was going to say the same, I really like her haircut. Suits her to a T, very flattering.
Iron age people knew SO much more about the properties of wood than we usually do - would even a skilled carpenter today know about the properties of all these different trees? So cool. Bravo.
Even though this is the only one that has been found, it's clear there must have been many, possibly hundreds or thousands.
By the time this one was made, the crafts people already knew which species of plant to use for each element of the shield.
Another excellent Curator's Corner. Not some old dusty boring professor, but someone explaining details in every day language. Thank you.
The skills could have been from other wares. Some people are good with their hand an an initiative knowledge and may have made other thing using these material an techniques, if if no it is not inconceivable that they could have perfect this in half a dozen, perhaps there were hundred but have my doubt.
I think it like that these skills weren't just used for one thing, There is so much that is useful for every day wares. One thing that is obvious I thsi is lighter than metal or ceramics. so ware that are useful for those on he move.
@@paulthomas8262 Totally agree with you. The skills used to make the shield would have also been used for other items. Thank you for your comment. G'day from Australia.
This is NOT the only wooden Iron Age shield that has been found. A number of them were found in La Tene, Switzerland.
This is the only wooden Iron Age shield found in the British Isles- that is the more accurate statement.
@@solinvictus39 the beginning of the viking age could still be considered iron age. It wouldn't be long before wood routinely was part of the construction of shields. However I don't think we are looking at something used in battle. It could be art, a demonstration of skill or a practice item. They understood about hardness and that a harder items cuts a less hard items or they wouldn't have been able craft it. They also understood about grain direction and how to split wood. They may not of known about local stressors but would have some intuative knowledge that there are fault lines in bark. Also the use of stretched hides for protective gear may have been used early on.
@@solinvictus39 Thank you so much for your comment, very helpful.
Wonderful. I've been waiting for more information on the Enderby shield since I read about it's discovery years ago. I love the craftsmanship of the original and the reconstruction both. Clearly and wonderfully explained.
I have looked at a fancy metal shield in a museum and wondered what the ordinary people used. Now I know, thank you.
I'm in awe over the knowledge discovered to make such an object 2000 years ago. Thank you so much for this wonderful presentation.
That was truly fascinating, thank you Sophia + team!
This is a great episode of curators's corner. Almost my favourite (after S4Ep4). What an amazing find! All the work preserving it and figuring out what exactly it is made of. Thank you.
I think this is probably what most Iron Age shields were like. Metal shields would have been high status objects, carried by tribal kings and their immediate followers. Bark shields are rare because organic material doesn't survive well archaeologically, but were probably common in ancient Britain.
Ish. It is also true that most battles occurred between small groups of elite warriors in Iron Age Britain. Ordinary people didn't exactly have any assets that were worth fighting over (and most "battles" were really more like devolved arrest attempts than like anything we would consider warfare). But, certain political events did inspire larger military campaigns that would have involved ordinary people: so it does stand to reason we would find some weapons and armaments made from less expensive materials.
A bark shield would be a lot lighter than a metal one. Very important consideration when you’re on foot, trudging along. The muckitymucks, with their fancy gear and riding their horses could manage the high status metal shields. Show offs
My first impression, as a modern lay person whose interests run more to fantasy than actual history, is child’s toy. Maybe something preteens and early teens trained with. A side by side comparison with the surviving bronze shields would be interesting. On the other hand we have the example of the Zulu hide shields and I vaguely remember seeing something about Bronze Age wicker shields from the Mediterranean area in an ancient warfare video or something.
@@MacAisling In spite of what she is saying in the video, "all organic" shields where common in the period. Mostly they where wood with wood bosses. A good example is Hortspring bog in Denmark where fragment of more than 100 shields where found. So where almost complete. Search for Hjortspring and shield (and also check out the boat and other gear). It was a entire war/raiding party.
Similar shields are known from graves from Scandinavia and central Europe.
I wonder if people during the Iron Age in Britain made shields from animal hide like the Zulus?
I'm from Wigston Magna, just down the road from Enderby. It's so great to see such a wonderful piece of ancient technology from my own back yard.
Well that was engrossing. The construction process was far more complex than I would have ever imagined. Thank you so much for bringing it to us on youtube. I have subscribed and will certainly enjoy the other videos.
The skills necessary to fabricate a shield would at the time have been fairly common knowledge as most common utensils had to be made at home for everyday use. The Scandinavians still use a lot of birchbark although nowadays for tourist stuff , but in a lot of poorer countries that knowledge means the difference between staying warm and dry and being soaked and cold.
Not sure we use birch more than for making some disgusting wine and burning in our fire places. :)
And the use of so many different types of tree because of the better properties of each one's material per application.
Fascinating! A great presentation.
Abbsolutely they must be more just waiting to be uncovered.
It seems that it was a mastered crafting technology
I Keep lot of respect to our ancestros everywhere!!
Thanks!!!
Survivorship bias in action. I imagine these shields were fairly common in the day. They just don't hold up to time like copper alloys. It's a pretty piece of craftwork. Thanks for the video!
What I see is a toy, my father made me a wooden spear heat treating the tip in a fire and also a shield made from an old pot lid. I threw that spear at every target I could find until I became quite accurate with it, i also learned to put the dull tip into a fire and then rub it on a rock until it was sharp and pointy again. There's no reason to think this shield might not have been made for a youth to play with while also learning how to use and handle a shield. We learn a lot of adult skills by playing and practing as a child.
Good, lucid presentation with enthusiasm! Iron Age metal shields were almost certainly only status or display objects, used for ritual purposes only; not in battle. The main function of a shield is to deflect the weapon blow from your opponent. Organic materials such as bark, leather, even cloth, are more effective at this than metal. And far less costly in resources. Also, the disparity in metal versus organic shields is probably simply due to survival: organics (except in very wet anaerobic conditions) do not survive; whereas metal does. And metal objects would have been deliberately buried for ritual purposes. Organic ones just thrown away when life-expired. But an excellent exposition of your presenting skills! Please make more BM videos. -Phil 😊
Greek shields were often covered in a bronze skin, why would bronze shields from Britain not be used in combat? I think the Chertsey shield could be ceremonial given it's a copy of a wooden shield in bronze but the others were bronze over a wood backing. The more recent discovery at Pocklington has a very large bronze plate over a wooden shield, hopefully more will turn up in due course.
Nice video, very well done.
Perhaps one day Britain will have moral fortitude to return all the ancient artifacts plundered over the centuries.
As it goes, the British museum along with other large institutions IS negotiating some deals. But can we keep the traditional slander off videos that are in fact about British artifacts?
That was truly fascinating, thank you Sophia + team!. An amazing find. And incredible reconstruction. Thank you for sharing..
Great artifact, great reconstruction, and excellent work by the curator. Thanks!
That 8s just fantastic, shield made from tree bark...human ingenuity....😮
This is one of the most interesting archaeological find I've ever seen! 😲I've never conceived of a shield made of bark, although I have heard of wicker shields. This was an excellent educational video! I love the British Museum, and hope to visit it again someday. 😀
"Absence of evidence is no evidence of Absence " Brawo!..well said.
Absolutely superb description of this discover. Ms. Adams is not only knowledgeable but a wonderful presenter. Thanks so much.
Ms Adams, thank you. Very _very_ well done. The skill sets evident in making the original shield indeed buttress the notion that a helluva lot of these "organics" were made and used. Liked and already subscribed from other Curator's Corner videos.
Every time I see these videos I feel like turning into some cliched kid-in-a-candy-shop-villain and picking what I would "procure" to decorate my lair.
you mean like The British Museum lol
@@veeepool Yes, I want to British Museum the British Museum.
I love Sophia's excitement and enthusiam for the topic! I always enjoy these Curator's Corner videos. Endlessly fascinating!
Wooden shields were known for over a hundred years. The special bronze ones mimic the everyday wooden. Ethnograhic material has shown us organic shields for hundreds of years. The exceptional thing here is the preservation.
Yeah, and it is even as well preserved as the Hjortspring shields from Denmark.
That was amazing, great detective work and recreation! And the amount of uses this shield can be used of is like an ancient swiss army knife. You can use it when it rains, as shade, for fires, as a fan, swat insects, floatation device, etc.
the gentle wisdom that radiates out of this channel is marvellous!
I remember when I was young, many people (and some archaeologists) used to think that ancient peoples weren't very smart, and many of the ancient discoveries couldn't have been possible at that time. I always thought that was an absurd premise. I'm amazed at the ingenuity and patience it took to see a tree and through various means, create a shield out of it; or look at a rock, and find a way to make it into a strong and useful metal. It still astounds me how creative and smart they were. I love recreative archaeology, showing that our ancestors all over the world were indeed very smart, and probably able to use their brains better than many today, who've lost necessary skills in our advanced world.
Great video, very interesting and informative! It makes perfect sense that this kind of shield may have been in wide use because of the more plentiful materials available and it costing much less than a metal one
This video is just incredible. Top tier youtube
Loved the video and the presenter is amazing- speaks in a lovely manner that holds one's attention
It's amazing how one object can change our view of the past. Visions of Iron Age Warriors armed with metal shields can now be overturned as the type of shield seen in this video may have been more prevalent.
I wonder if there's also cowhide shields and wicker shields (like the sparabara of the Achaemenids) just waiting to be uncovered.
Driving those staves between the bark layers is amazing to me. Keeps it from curling, adds some reinforcement. Bronze age plywood.
Exactaly! Now think how strong ply wood can be? This is not a toy.
GREAT Presentation! ❤👏
Superb quality of archaeological recovery and preservation processes, after discovery. It's always best to leave things of great significance to tried and trusted professionals, I think.
Wonderful presentation! I thought those dissolves to highlight stitching and other details were really effective. Kudos to whoever thought of and executed that.
I find it absolutely amazing that each element of this shield is made from a different type of wood/plant, being carefully selected for its properties.
At first I thought this must be a childs' toy shield, but the detailed construction you show makes it look quite fit for a proper battle.
I wonder if there have been any test made regarding the protective abilities of such a shield, I can absolutely imagine it to catch quite a few blows before having to be discarded.
It was probably more used to deflect rather than catch blows in which case the lightness and flexibility of its design would be an advantage. It's worth remembering that even in the Iron Age swords are high status bits of kit and most of the time they would probably be facing spears.
They must have been effective because these kind of light, organic shields crop up in many cultures globally right up until modern times!
An amazing find. And incredible reconstruction. Thank you for sharing.. Hats off to the experimental archeologists who figured it out..
On the other hand, it could be a toy. A shield like Dad's.
Thing is, if dad could afford a shield in the right size, and the kid could carry a full-size one... he'd probably just get him a metal shield. I like the idea, but it'd have to be a lot smaller, for that to make as much sense.
@@PilkScientist It's not a lot bigger than the one my dad made for me when I was about four, which I still have. He used thin plywood rather than birch bark, of course.
If you want to see really small shields, check out these miniature ones from the Salisbury Hoard: www.britishmuseum.org/collection/search?place=Netherhampton&object=shield&view=grid&sort=object_name__asc&page=1
This one object represents generations and generations of accumulated knowledge and skill. I absolutely love how much history is encapsulated in this single item.
It makes sense these would exist, metal is expensive, not everyone could afford metal shields. Fascinating to see this. Thank you all.
As an aside, it's somewhat depressing you had to keep putting up the disclaimer this was the reproduction but such is the state of people now.
I could listen to Sophie talk all day about this and any objects under her care
It is an amazing find and I can well imagine there are many shields made of various materials that were used that have yet to be discovered.
From wood to bark to metal to animal hide.
So well presented, entertaining and informative, thanks very much
Probably most shields in the Iron Age (and before) were made of nonmetal materials, such as wood, leather, or plant fibers. But these substances are not as durable as metal or stone, so not many artifacts made of them still exist after thousands of years.
This series is magnificent. Just an artifact or two and an expert explaining. I'm being entertained and educated in a simple way that holds the attention throughout.
Love this explanation
For an awesome technology
Just great!
Both the narrativa and the topic.
Thanks!!
loverly, so ceremonial!
I am thinking along the lines of a utility tool, multi purposed and an essential piece of your kit. Marvellous
That’s such an amazing find! Thank you for sharing it’s absolutely fascinating!!!😮😊❤
I love how we are reminded it's a reconstruction every time she smacks it XD
Another wonderful video that not only educates and inspires but highlights the passion that such archivists have... It's a joy to behold. Was it made for a child with love and attention to detail?
That's exactly what I'm thinking: given the lighter materials and the MUCH smaller size, could this have been a child's toy, meant to help some warrior-class child learn his fighting skills? Could the buried person have afterward kept it as a keepsake into adulthood?
I love these glimpses into the past. Those details about the materials that were used give us a sense of the presence of real people existing in the past. I love it. And I love that so much knowledge and effort and care has gone into teasing out all those details from the past . Wonderful.
So intriguing. Excellent program.
Makes sense. Thanks for posting.
Marvellous technology.....!!! Amazingly explained.... Thank you...
Very informative and interesting video. Your manner of presentation really helped hook me into watching this video in its entirety due to your obvious interest in the subject matter as well enthusiasm. Great job 👍
Brilliant!
Thank you.
Absolutely fascinating.
A wonderful presentation done with very obvious enthusiasm, well done.
Great use of chapters - you guys are skilled educators. It's wonderful to hear the enthusiasm you have for your field. Who would have thought a soggy old bit of wood would be so interesting!?!
A beautiful shield and a fantastic reconstruction. I like the idea that these would have been far more common and everyday than the metal shields we more easily recognise.
Fascinating 🧐
Thank you Dr Adams 👍🏾🦘🤎
Beautifully done. So informative.
What a find. Thanks for sharing
So wonderful and surprising to see that the British Museum has interesting pieces that were not stolen from other countries.
Absolutely wonderful.
Wonderful - literally! Thank you for showing us this artefact
I like thinking of young farmer who couldn't afford metal, but he was good with wood, so he figured out to create the shield he wanted anyway. The hole and burial might suggest it didn't work quite as well as he hoped, though, albeit gorgeous. 😥
Extremely interesting. These crafting skills...
Incredible, simple as that really!! 😲
An amazing piece made by highly experienced people who knew exactly what wood is used for what purpose, the way to harvest them and to prepare them properly for use. A great reproduction by the 21st century team too. Well done.
This was a wonderful talk.
It feels as if the boss would have snagged an opponent’s weapon. Might the shield have been covered in something smoother when it was new? Leather or stiffened linen? That could also be a canvas for the kind of decorations that are seen on the metal shields.
So, speaking from my admittedly only semi-relevant experience with later medieval shield fencing experiments, snagging is actually a great thing! The shield is historically a disposable or semi-disposable object, because for it to be anything else it would have to be prohibitively heavy and overbuilt, so losing the shield isn't a huge concern. when a weapon cuts into a shield and becomes stuck you're given a massive opportunity to neutralize the threat posed by your opponent, be that by disarming them or just straight up turning their brains into paste. Bosses on some viking age shields are even designed for this, with a little "lip" or groove used for binding in a shield press or similar weapon interaction, allowing for unprecedented kinds of weapon manipulation when compared to like, a late medieval heater shield with a smooth face. Linen covered shields are certainly a possibility, being almost universal in wooden shield construction in later more documented European military equipment, and indeed I'll bet that metal bossed wooden shields were constructed in exactly that manner, but I doubt this one would have been covered, mainly because it seems likely to me that linen, a plant finer, would have preserved alongside the wood. I personally guess it would've been gessoed and then brightly painted with some kind of tribal or personal motif, which in itself can lend some toughness to a shield, as the gesso acts as a glue, making the shield into a fibreglass-like composite at least in the case of textiles, although I've no idea what it'd to to bark.
Hope this answers your questions! if it doesn't I'm happy to clarify.
@@ef.9095 Scotish Tarn shields faced with felted wool have been proved to stop musket balls. (At longer ranges) Everyone is assuming wood is weak. Try throwing a heavy metal sheild about to protect your self. As you say most people think shield, stop anything, not how they are used.
This was probably used exclusively against wooden weapons. Either for play or training. Not on the battlefield.
We looked for evidence of hide and other animal products on the shield and York University analysed a sample via ZooMS (Zooarchaeology by Mass Spectroscopy) but nothing was found. We also found no evidence for glue or resin.
@@ef.9095 Tod's Workshop has explored a number of wooden shield types, with and without linen, as you mention, and tried different layers of material. For this and armor he's always emphasizing the advantage of laminating different materials. I was struck by the nature of the bark - it has 2 layers with different properties, thus is a natural laminate. This shield had no linen but may perhaps be considered a laminate. That would make it more resistant to arrows than it looks, and of course if it slows and catches an arrow even if it goes through by a few inches that's good - as long as it doesn't hit your hand!
I saw a great video on RUclips how they made many attempts to reconstruct the shield, learning on the job. People always underestimate their ancestors.
The crabapple wood laths make sense to me. It’s a very tough but relatively flexible wood. It would be hard to pick a better wood for a shield
Excellent!
i can't help but to recall, as a third son, all the hand-me-downs of my life. my mind's eye says this is one of them. father to son, then down the line as a toy instead of a work tool in the forests and fields? my thirteenth grandfather would have been intrigued with this object as a weaver- he made cloth in the newly made taunton, ma. the story of the woods is fascinating! the thought that an ogham gardener made this with what he had on hand is mind bogglingly still a modern problem: that MUST be solved by creative types.
sadly, we do not know our environment and it's economic plants today. my father would have called that the loss of the pioneer spirit.
thanks for the journey, bm!
Really interesting and informative and very well presented, thanks