The Pharoah's Shield
Personal Protection in Ancient Egypt
Soldiers have always needed not just offensive weapons, but defensive equipment as well. As well as armour, there have been shields for much of recorded history.
Pre-Dynastic to Middle Kingdom Shields
The most distinctive Egyptian shield, seen in many tomb paintings, scrolls, and wooden models, was the rectangular shield. This was almost the height of its user, five feet high, with straight edges on three sides. The top came to a pointed arch, and there was a leather strap for a handle on the centre.
These shields were basically wooden. Some were solid flats which usually had cowhide leather held down on the outer surface, others were merely frames across which cowhide had been stretched. Amusingly, paintings and surviving models show that the shields were painted with the blotchy patterns of the cowhides from which they came.
These smaller shields could also be carried by a chariot archer when not shooting, but there wasn't room on an Egyptian chariot for a separate shield-bearer, so the driver and archer would have to rely on their rate of shooting to keep enemies at bay when actually in combat.
Using the Shield
This type of shield was useful to protect spear-carrying soldiers from reed arrows and the like, as the soldier could stop and crouch behind, totally hiding himself. However the size of the shield made it unwieldy to use for blocking against swords or axes in close-quarter combat.
Archers, of course, couldn't carry a shield while shooting, as they had to use both hands. This meant that some soldiers were deployed along with the archers as shield-bearers, to keep the archers on their side covered from arrows or slingshot stones launched by the enemy. These shield bearers would either cover a single man, or form a shield wall, depending on the situation.
Egyptian military encampments were ringed with these shields, propped up. This kept animals out, horses in, and would clatter when falling if anyone entered the camp. It also meant the mens' shields were always ready to be taken up at a moment's notice.
The Shield Shrinks
In the second Millennium BC, Egypt began both to use smaller, more maneuverable weapons such as swords and penetrative axes, and to face enemies who used them. This meant that a soldier needed to be able to maneuver his shield in order to block with it and protect himself, more quickly and with more agility than the old shields would allow.
The wood and cowhide shield then was made smaller, three feet high, and the arched top made into a wider curve. This was more maneuverable. Round shields were carried by the Sea Peoples, some of whom fought for Egypt as mercenaries after the time of Rameses III.
The Gilded Shield
Althought the ordinary soldier's shield was either plain, or painted with a cowhide pattern, there were more decorative shields for the high-ranking, and royalty. The Pharoah's shield in particular would be covered with leopard or cheetah skin rather than leather, or even gilded.
Metal shields were also known, but were more for ceremonial use by the King, as they were less practical as defenisve equipment. Because wood and leather are compressible, where bronze is not, they could take impacts from arrows, spears or swords without breaking. Bronze shields were more brittle, and could be split completely by a blow from a khopesh.
Perhaps the least practical shield in Egpyt was the gilded open-work shield. One of these was found in Tutenkhamun's tomb, showing the Pharoah as a sphinx. This has lots of open spaces clear through the shield, and was most certainly only for decorative use and not for personal protection!
Sources
Fighting Pharoahs, Bob Partridge, Peartree, 2002
Armies Of The Pharoahs, Mark Healy, Osprey, 1992
Royal Armouries, Leeds
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