dc.description.abstract
As it appears on the earliest depictions of military materials, Early Dynastic people used a huge shield during the sieges of cities, in order to protect their archers shooting at the defenders. In the meantime, the neck, chest and sides of these besieging soldiers were protected with the primitive models of the scale-armour. The shield has seen a fascinating evolution in the ancient Near East as a defensive armour, dominating the light, thin armour for centuries. Then, the spoked-wheel chariot appeared, and enhanced the evolution and predominance of the scale-armour over the heavy and large shield, for centuries. With the Middle - Late Bronze Age, the scale-armour was so huge a defense that it was provided to the sappers, working without shield at the foot of the rampart during the sieges of cities. Then, during the Early Iron Age, the sappers appear more and more with smaller scale-armour, and huger siege-shields, as one can clearly observe it on the Neo-Assyrian data. The development of these technologies, and their smart use, and effectiveness, surely contributed to the constitution of empires in the ancient Near East. Archaeological, visual and textual evidences will come in hand to support this original approach of hoplology.
