African (Nubian ?) shield

[colin henshaw]

Originally Posted by LJ

Great photos! Are those suits hanging on the wall of Blair Castle padded cotton horseman's tunics ? Strange coincidence that by following the links in another post just added (wanting help with a german translation) you get to a drawing of a Sudanese horseman wearing armour and also to an illustration of a shield similar to the ones we have been discussing. The German paper is about the Beja, which seems to be a catch-all name for groups living between the Nile and Red Sea if you believe Wikipedia.

Incidentally, about those marks in groups of four: could they have been pin-marks from decorations - silver plates for instance - formerly fixed to the shield ?

Thanks. The image I believe shows a chain mail jacket, however Blair Castle does have a padded tunic(s). Here are a few more images.

The marks in my shield could have been for the attachment of decorations, I guess. They are small holes that go right through, as if made by a strong needle.