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Military

How tall is a Roman scutum shield?

A Roman scutum shield is about 1.2 m (3 ft 11 in) tall.

What is measured: Roman legionary curved shield, height

Roman Scutum Shield (1.2 m) drawn to scale beside a bowling pin (38.1 cm) and an adult person (1.7 m)
Drawn to scale, from left to right: Bowling pin (38.1 cm), Roman Scutum Shield (1.2 m) and Adult person (1.7 m).

Compare

How big is that, really?

  • A little shorter than an adult person
  • About 60% of the height of a doorway
  • About 3.1× as tall as a bowling pin
  • About 8.2× as tall as a smartphone
  • About 20% of the length of a 20-foot shipping container

Learn

Facts about Roman Scutum Shield

The rectangular curved scutum let legionaries lock shields together to form the famous testudo formation.

Source: Osprey Publishing: Roman Legionary Equipment

Military

NameSizeCompared with Roman Scutum Shield
Katana Sword1 m (3 ft 3 in)0.83×
M16A2 Rifle1 m (3 ft 3 in)0.83×
Panzerfaust1.05 m (3 ft 5 in)0.88×
Maxim Machine Gun1.07 m (3 ft 6 in)0.89×
Javelin Anti-Tank Missile1.1 m (3 ft 7 in)0.92×
M1 Garand Rifle1.1 m (3 ft 7 in)0.92×
Roman Scutum Shield1.2 m (3 ft 11 in)this page
Medieval Longsword1.2 m (3 ft 11 in)same size
Mosin-Nagant Rifle1.23 m (4 ft)1×
M240 Machine Gun1.24 m (4 ft 1 in)1×

Test your sense of scale

Which is bigger: Roman Scutum Shield or Katana Sword?

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