1-155-303 - Ann Ronan Picture Library/Heritage-Images

Roman soldiers making a 'tortoise' with their shields, 1605. This tactic of the Roman infantry was intended to protect the soldiers from projectiles, but in this illustration the formation is depicted as being strong enough for chariots to drive over. Reconstruction from Poliorceticon sive de Machinis Tormentis Telis by Justus Lipsius. (Antwerp, 1605).