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Pine frame
Black, dark wood or natural wood, FSC-certified. Framed prints arrive framed and ready to hang, hanging kit included.
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Pax Romana Art
Testudo, the Tortoise Formation
The Roman Army · Siege and Field
1.012 kr1.352 kr
Save 340 kr
Opening offer · Ends Nov 22
- Printed in the USA. Made to order and shipped in the USA.
- Free US shipping. Tracking included on every order.
- Shatterproof plexiglass. Framed prints sit in a pine frame, FSC-certified, and arrive ready to hang.
- Magnetic wooden hanger. Posters come with a pine hanger; the magnets hold the print.
- Arrives perfect — guaranteed. Damaged or defective? Free reprint or refund.
Details & specs
Framed print
- 12-color fine art printing with fade-resistant pigment inks
- Smooth matte fine art paper, 200 gsm
- Pine wood frame, FSC-certified paper and wood
- Shatterproof plexiglass
- Arrives framed and ready to hang, hanging kit included
Hanging print
- 12-color fine art printing with fade-resistant pigment inks
- Smooth matte fine art paper, 200 gsm
- Pine wood frame, FSC-certified paper and wood
- Shatterproof plexiglass
- Arrives framed and ready to hang, hanging kit included
- Sizes: 12x18″ · 16x24″ · 24x36″
- Orientation: Vertical
- Medium: Fine art paper
- Style: Military plate
- Era: Timeless
Shipping & returns
Made to order and printed and framed in the USA. Produced in 1–2 business days, delivered 2–5 business days after that — 3–7 business days door to door. Free US shipping, tracked.
Damaged, defective or the wrong item? Email a photo within 7 days of delivery and we send a free replacement or a full refund. Because every piece is made to order, change-of-mind returns are not accepted.
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Testudo, the Tortoise FormationFramed print · Black · 16x24″
1.012 kr
1.352 krSave 340 kr
The Roman Army · Siege and Field
A Roof Made of Shields
The testudo, Latin for tortoise, was a formation of locked shields that let Roman infantry approach enemy walls or cross ground swept by missiles. The legionary's long, curved shield, the scutum, made it possible: held edge to edge, the shields formed a wall along the front and sides and a sloping roof above.
Roman writers describe it from the Republic to the late empire. The fullest account comes from the historian Cassius Dio, in Book XLIX of his Roman History, describing Mark Antony's campaign against the Parthians in 36 BC. Dio explains that the baggage and lighter troops went into the middle, the outer ranks with their curved shields formed the walls, and the men inside raised their shields overhead. The roof was so tight, he says, that men could walk on it, and where the army came to a ravine even horses and carts could be driven across. Tacitus tells of legionaries storming the fortified camp at Cremona under a tortoise of shields in AD 69.
The piece
The plate is drawn in two views on warm paper, like a page from a drill manual. From above, a grid of red shields locks into a roof, ringed by darker curved shields at the front and sides, each soldier marked by a dot. Below, a side view shows the overhead shields stepping down toward the front like roof tiles.
Materia · The materials
Fine art paper, framed or hung.
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Fine art paper
Framed prints: 200 gsm smooth matte paper, printed in 12 colors with fade-resistant pigment inks.
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Shatterproof plexiglass
Protects the print in transit and on the wall.
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Magnetic wooden hanger
Posters: 250 gsm museum-quality matte paper between pine hangers in black or dark wood. The magnets hold the print, so you can swap it any time.
Size guide
Find the right size
This piece, to scale, above an 84-inch sofa. Pick a size, or a format and frame above, and the wall follows.
Which size?
Sizes are the artwork's. Frames and hangers add a little around the edge.
Above a sofa or bed, art looks best at about two-thirds of the furniture's width, hung 8 to 10 inches above it.
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