Roman soldiers lined up for battle in a tight formation ... Image caption, This modern painting shows Roman soldiers at Birdoswald Fort (Hadrian's Wall). A centurion watches men training.

semi-cylindrical shield most popular from the fourth century B.C. to the third century A.D. A scutum in the Yale University ...

Roman soldiers lined up for battle in a tight formation ... Image caption, This modern painting shows Roman soldiers at Birdoswald Fort (Hadrian's Wall). A centurion watches men training.

and probably belonged to a Roman soldier who lost his life in battle. Few examples of this type of shield have survived over the millennia, even though it is well known from depictions in art.

A wooden and leather shield used by a Roman soldier in battle Where it is from: Dura-Europos, Syria When it was made: Second century A.D. Related: Babylonian tablet preserves student's 4,000-year-old ...

HEERLEN, THE NETHERLANDS—The 2,000-year-old tomb of a Roman soldier—including evidence ... uncovered in the Netherlands of a catastrophic battle between Julius Caesar and two Germanic tribes ...