El acceso a la versión del editor puede requerir la suscripción del recurso Access to the published version may require subscription This manuscript has appeared in a revised form as a book "Rome and the North-Western Mediterranean. Integration and connectivity c. 150-70 BC", published by Oxbow Books, with ISBN number 9781789257175.
Military Connectivity between Romans and Non-Romans in the WestFernando Quesada Sanz were rare and mainly a status symbol. Defensive armament was based on a 50-70 cm diameter circular shield, caetra, with only an occasional, but effective, disc-cuirass and helmet (Quesada 1997a; Lorrio 2016). Such combinations were typical for 'line infantry' (often misnamed 'heavy infantry ', see Quesada 2006a, 246). A few tombs have examples of a lighter panoply (javelins, shield and perhaps some form of short sword), which the literary evidence associates with light infantry (Quesada 1998, 192-3 and fig. 6). Projectile weapons (slings and bows) hardly ever appear in the many tombs containing weapons or in iconography.
ShieldsSignificant changes in warriors' panoply occurred around the turn of the 3rd and 2nd centuries. These were first seen just before and in the early period of Roman presence in the main Iberian regions where there was significant Carthaginian influence preceding the Roman (Quesada 2002-3;2011b). The main innovations comprised strengthening defensive armament (Quesada 2002-3;2011b). The oval shield (thureos/scutum) was the first example of change. Since the work by Cabré (1939-40) and Stary (1982), the previous emphasis on a Celtic-based origin for this type of shield being in the Iberian peninsula has moved to acknowledging that an oval form and variants spread throughout the Mediterranean, continental Europe and North Africa from the 3rd century. A north Italian origin for the basic form is now generally accepted. From there, it extended into Europe north of the Alps at the beginning of the 4th century (Eichberg 1987, 183-4, 217-8) or even earlier (Stary 1981, 294), eventually reaching Latium and Rome. During the Iron Age, a flat form of the oval shield definitely became the most characteristic type amongst people generally regarded as 'Celtic'. A flat type was also common among many Italian peoples, such as the flat ver-sion from Etruria (Eichberg type C; 1987, Beilage 1). There was also a later curved, tile-shaped form, which protected the combatant more efficiently, according to Livy (38.21.4). This type seems to have been introduced in Rome during the Second Punic War (Eichberg 1987, 190-1). Thus, the oval shield was not just Celtic, but also Etruscan, Italian and even, in a new form, also Roman. Additionally, other forms of the oval shield were also in widespread use from at least the beginning of the 3rd century among the Greeks, who perhaps adopted them from the Galatians when these had been invaded, or from long before, as such shields could have been used by the Achaeans in the Peloponnese quite independently (Anderson 1970, 14; Paus. 8.50.1; Plut. Vit. Phil. 9).Al...