What it is: 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 ...

What it tells us about the past: This tall, semi-cylindrical shield, which is in the collection of the Yale University Art Gallery, is one of the few surviving examples of a Roman "scutum," the ...