Heraklion Shield

By Crusader1307

Developed in Heraklion (Crete), this shield was innovative in it's design  in the 3rd Century B.C (carrying onward to the later 12th Century B.C). This shield featured a notch or open spacing in it's perimeter. The shield itself was not circular but elongated at 4 feet in length and roughly 3 feet in diameter. Made of reinforced weave pattern wood, they were often covered in layers of thin leather. This made the overall weight around 8 pounds. A Bar Arm was installed for carry, as was a backstrap for long marches. The key to The Heraklion was it's use in pairs and larger numbers. The shield was designed to be “interlocked” (via the spacing gap) – with another shield. By replicating this technique, a Shield Wall was created. Some Heraklion Shields were constructed to feature two open spaces (suggesting an “anchor shield”). Therefore a line of infantry could create a moving impenetrable wall when advancing on Archers or Spearmen. A similar design was also adopted by Sparta in their Late Period. The Heraklion was also seen during The Trojan Wars.